The 'I'm not reaching' pouches dividing Minnesota: BLM slams police initiative to reduce traffic stop shooting deaths with transparent document holders for cars

 Critics on social media have lashed out at a new plan by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to try to keep drivers safe during traffic stops. 

The department has offered drivers what they call 'not-reaching pouches' as a safety measure that allow drivers to keep their license and insurance in plain view so a police officer doesn't think they're trying to grab a weapon.

The pouches are a response in part to the police shooting of Philando Castile by a suburban Minneapolis cop in 2016. Castile was driving with his girlfriend and 4-year-old daughter when he was stopped.

However, some on social media feel the pouches engage in a form of victim blaming, calling them 'don't-murder-me pouches' or 'please-don't-execute-me pouches.' 

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has offered drivers what they call 'not-reaching pouches' that allow drivers to keep their license and insurance

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has offered drivers what they call 'not-reaching pouches' that allow drivers to keep their license and insurance

St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez asked Castile for a driver's license and proof of insurance, which he provides the officer through the driver's side window.

Castile then tells Yanez that he has a firearm in the vehicle along with a permit to carry the weapon.

Yanez pulls his gun out of his holster and tells Castile not to reach for it before moments later firing seven shots into the car.

Philando Castile's death was an inspiration for the pouches. Castile was shot seven times in an attempt to reach for his information and not for the gun he was legally permitted to own

Philando Castile's death was an inspiration for the pouches. Castile was shot seven times in an attempt to reach for his information and not for the gun he was legally permitted to own

The officer's lawyer said that his client thought he was approaching someone who resembled a suspect in an armed robbery.

Yanez was later acquitted on charges of manslaughter and two lesser charges.  

Additionally, another Minnesota man, then 20-year-old Daunte Wright, was killed by Officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop after he resisted arrest and she threatened to taser him in April of 2021.

Bodycam footage showed one officer trying to handcuff Wright as a second officer told him he was being arrested on a warrant. Wright immediately jumped back into his car in an apparent attempt to flee.

A struggle then broke out between the officers and Wright, who was still sitting inside his car.

'I'll Tase you! I'll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!' Potter could be heard shouting in her bodycam video.

Immediately after, Potter can be heard saying: 'Holy sh*t. I shot him'.

20-year-old Daunte Wright was killed by Officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop after he resisted arrest and she threatened to taser him.

20-year-old Daunte Wright was killed by Officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop after he resisted arrest and she threatened to taser him.

Potter is now charged with first-degree manslaughter, in addition to a prior charge of second-degree manslaughter. 

She has claimed that she meant to use her taser instead of her handgun when she fatally shot Wright on April 11.


Similar tragedies occurred in South Carolina in 2014, when Sean Grouber shot motorist Levar Jones after stopping him in Richland County for not wearing a seat belt; as well as in Alabama that same year, when an policeman shot an unarmed Air Force officer.

Castile’s death is what prompted the creator of the “Not Reaching!” pouch, Jackie Carter, to act. Carter is on the board of directors of the nonprofit Alliance for Safe Traffic Stops, which teaches student drivers how to handle traffic stops.   

Social media has had mixed reactions to the pouches, with a Twitter user maligning them as 'don't-murder-me pouches.' 

One other replied bluntly, 'Have you tried simply not shooting people instead?' 

Many social media users have criticized the pouches as a way to shift the blame on victims of police shootings

Many social media users have criticized the pouches as a way to shift the blame on victims of police shootings

One important person has come out in favor of the pouches, however: Philando's mother, Valerie Castile. 

Castile partnered with Carter to bring the pouches to Minnesota. 

Carter thinks the reaction on social media has gone way too far. 

'It shows me that there's still this division,' said Carter. 'No one's looking at the middle ground. It's us against them. And that has to end.'

One important person has come out in favor of the pouches, however: Philando's mother, Valerie Castile

One important person has come out in favor of the pouches, however: Philando's mother, Valerie Castile

Valerie Castile thought it was a 'brilliant idea' and says both she and her daughter use the pouches and pass them out to parents.   

'My god, it's a plastic cardholder, for God's sake. Why are you upset and angry about a piece of plastic?' Castile said. 'Some people don't have to worry about that in the morning when their kids leave. They don't have that anxiety and frustration that their child may not come home because of what's happening in the world. But for the fact that my son was murdered, there probably wouldn't be a not-reaching pouch.'

Castile adds that she still supports 'bigger' policy changes, like a nearby Minnesota county that no longer prosecutes minor traffic violations.

Valerie Castile thought it was a 'brilliant idea' and says both she and her daughter use the pouches and pass them out to parents

Valerie Castile thought it was a 'brilliant idea' and says both she and her daughter use the pouches and pass them out to parents

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