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‘Dirty & Demonic’: Popular Megachurch Pastor’s Controversial Response to Acquittal of Officer Who Shot Philando Castile

Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
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By Billy Hallowell
Editor

June 20, 2017

Amid intense debate over a jury’s decision to acquit the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile last July, a popular megachurch pastor weighed in on the matter with a pointed tweet expressing his shock.

READ: Bernie Sanders Won’t Back Down From Attack on Trump Nominee’s Christian Beliefs

“I can’t understand how a court could land where they did on #PhilandoCastile while the department removed him,” Matt Chandler,” pastor of The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, wrote on Twitter. “Feels dirty & demonic.”

Castile’s case made international headlines after he was shot by Officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop and Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, posted video of his final moments on Facebook Live.

I can't understand how a court could land where they did on #PhilandoCastille while the department removed him…feels dirty & demonic

— Matt Chandler (@MattChandler74) June 17, 2017

Reynolds has said that Castile was merely grabbing for his license when he was shot by Yanez.

The officer, who was acquitted by a jury on Friday after being charged with second-degree manslaughter and endangering safety by discharging a firearm, testified in court that he was fearful Castile was reaching for a gun, The New York Times reported.

Yanez, who worked in the city of St. Anthony, will no longer be on patrol, with officials announcing that they will be offering him a “voluntary separation agreement,” the outlet noted. The decision to acquit the officer has sparked a plethora of protests.

This brokenness requires radical steps but it's deeply demonic. Praying for Holy Spirit breakthrough and the binding of this spirit

— Matt Chandler (@MattChandler74) June 17, 2017

Chandler’s reaction to the verdict was retweeted more than 500 times and liked nearly 1,500 times, with a diverse array of responses flowing in. While some agreed with the preacher’s assessment, others pushed back.

Below, see just some of those responses:

@MattChandler74 if you've never been in law enforcement and never had to make a split second decision, don't comment. Love you sermons!

— Justin Barnard (@JustinBarnard1) June 17, 2017

Being black in America means that we are taught from a young age to act differently than white people when approached by the cops.

— Ray Massey II (@11thH0ur) June 18, 2017

Easy to judge a play after it has ran. Don't know if he was right or wrong. Wasn't there.

— Justin Barnard (@JustinBarnard1) June 17, 2017

Thank you so much for saying something. The silence of so many spiritual leaders often speaks so much more loudly than they likely intend.

— Lindsey Appiah (@LAppiah) June 17, 2017

Demonic is yelling racism about this issue constantly & refusing to admit when have been wrong. Preaching white guilt seems demonic also.

— Eric Horton (@ericjhorton75) June 17, 2017

Such lack of compassion in the "Christian" community. No matter your opinion, if your first response isn't mourning, you're doing it wrong.

— Zachary Monroe (@Z_Mon13) June 17, 2017

Well the police department did say "no reasonable officer" would have done this Eventually officers killing ppl has to stop,convictions help

— logangentry (@logangentry) June 17, 2017

I agree here. But something caused the jury to vote the way they did. Beyond a reason doubt is a high threshold. Heck, look at Cosby…

— Mike McClung (@MikeRMcClung) June 17, 2017

Appreciate your tweet. This is messy but seeing pastors stand up and speak about unpopular issues within the evang church is encouraging

— Dayna Appiah (@djD_App) June 17, 2017

An innocent man is dead, and I cannot believe some of these things the "Christian" community is replying. May God heal your hardened hearts.

— Cami Ferrell (@cam3r00ny) June 17, 2017

Read more about the Castile verdict here.

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