Trevor Noah Says of the Dashcam Video of Philando Castile’s Death: ‘It Broke Me’

Trevor Noah has unleashed his outrage at the jury that last week acquitted Officer Geronimo Yanez in the killing of Philando Castile amid the release of new footage of the incident.

“I thought that I felt all I could feel about this story until I got home and I watched a newly released video,” Noah said on “The Daily Show” Wednesday, June 21.

He encouraged anyone who hadn’t seen the footage to do so and explained how the dashcam footage, released Monday, June 19, days after the verdict came down, had affected him.

“When I watched this video, it broke me,” Noah says. “You see so many of these videos and you start to get numb. But this one? Seeing the child, that little girl, get out of the car after watching a man get killed, it broke my heart into little pieces.”

The host went on to explain how the presence of body cameras and cell phone videos of such incidents continue to result in no indictment for the officer who is responsible. He also pointed out how respectful Castile and his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, remained throughout the exchange.

“[The jury] still said, ‘Yes, I can see why that cop was afraid,'” Noah says. “Why would you say he was afraid? Was it because Philando Castile was being polite? Was it because he was following the officer’s instructions? Was it because he was in the car with his family? Or was it because Philando Castile was Black?”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top