Live-streaming of a police shooting should not be a surprise

Seconds after Philando Castile was shot by a police officer, Diamond Reynolds had her phone out, live streaming the aftermath on Facebook. She calmly spoke about what she saw as her boyfriend died beside her and her daughter sat in the backseat.

The incident, which occurred Wednesday night in Minnesota, along with another police shooting of a black man, has reopened the debate about violence against minorities, with President Barack Obama addressing the nation on the shootings Thursday afternoon.

KIRO Radio’s John Curley says the surreal video comes across as if Reynolds is “reading an eye chart” as opposed to the devastating incident that it is.

Related: Should armed citizens be worried about confrontations with police?

Co-host Tom Tangney called it highly unfair to judge anyone’s reaction to witnessing such an ordeal and that, more than anything, Reynolds’ response to capture the moment on video is a sad byproduct of the times.

Tom: If you’re black in America, with Black Lives Matter as a backdrop, you are conscious of getting things on tape, recording police interaction with your loved ones immediately to spread the word. I do think there is a dual thing going on and that’s an interesting social development that we’re now seeing.

Curley: The camera invites the public into a situation that they weren’t previously a party to. And then you realize you’re breaking that fourth wall and basically laying out within seconds of the ‘incident’ or crime what your facts as you understand them.

Tom: You’re getting your narrative out first rather than the other way around.

Curley: Because the ‘Hands up, don’t shoot’ narrative got out, but then the facts came in and dismantled it. So this is her laying it all out.

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