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Officer Who Shot Philando Castile Charged With Manslaughter Officer Who Shot Philando Castile Charged With Manslaughter
(about 5 hours later)
ST. PAUL — The suburban police officer who killed Philando Castile, an African-American driver whose graphic death was streamed live on Facebook, was charged on Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter, as prosecutors heeded the calls of protesters who marched for weeks calling for an arrest. ST. PAUL — The suburban police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile, the black driver whose last moments this summer were streamed live on Facebook, was charged on Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter and accused of escalating a mundane roadside exchange into a needlessly violent episode.
The officer, Jeronimo Yanez, who will appear in court on Friday, was also charged with two felony counts of intentional discharge of a dangerous weapon. In outlining the case against Officer Jeronimo Yanez, prosecutors described a traffic stop on July 6 that spiraled out of control when Officer Yanez overreacted to the presence of Mr. Castile’s lawfully carried gun and shot him despite pleas that he was not reaching for the weapon.
“No reasonable officer — knowing, seeing and hearing what Officer Yanez did at the time — would have used deadly force under these circumstances,” the Ramsey County attorney, John J. Choi, said. “No reasonable officer — knowing, seeing and hearing what Officer Yanez did at the time — would have used deadly force under these circumstances,” the Ramsey County attorney, John J. Choi, said. Officer Yanez, who will appear in court on Friday, was also charged with two felony counts of intentional discharge of a dangerous weapon.
Mr. Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria worker, was stopped in the small suburb of Falcon Heights on July 6 by Officer Yanez of the St. Anthony police on a busy stretch of road near the state fairgrounds. Mr. Choi said Officer Yanez spotted Mr. Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria worker, driving along a stretch of road near the state fairgrounds with his girlfriend and her young daughter. Officer Yanez believed Mr. Castile matched the description of a suspect in a nearby armed robbery from a few days earlier, radioing a colleague that Mr. Castile’s “wide-set nose” seemed to match the surveillance footage from that case, and that his car also had a broken taillight.
The authorities said Officer Yanez had fatally shot Mr. Castile in reaction to a gun, and a lawyer for Officer Yanez said that Mr. Castile had not followed the officer’s commands. But when Officer Yanez pulled Mr. Castile over in the tiny suburb of Falcon Heights, the conversation described by prosecutors started out as ordinary, with no mention of the robbery and no discussion of the smell of marijuana that Officer Yanez would later recount to investigators. (Mr. Choi said Wednesday that Mr. Castile was not a suspect in the armed robbery case.)
But Mr. Castile’s girlfriend streamed the aftermath of the shooting on Facebook Live, claiming that her boyfriend had a license to carry a weapon and that he had been trying to tell Officer Yanez about the gun. Mr. Castile had been pulled over dozens of times before without conflict, and those who knew him recalled him as a calm, peaceful man. Mr. Castile, who had been pulled over dozens of times before, seemed to know the routine: He kept his seatbelt fastened, greeted Officer Yanez and handed over his insurance card, according to prosecutors’ version of events. Then, before his girlfriend said he reached for the wallet that contained his driver’s license and permit to carry a pistol, Mr. Castile said, “Sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me.”
Mr. Choi revealed new information about the traffic stop, saying that Mr. Castile had “calmly and in a nonthreatening manner” disclosed that he was carrying a gun and that Officer Yanez had replied, “Don’t reach for it, then.” Within seconds, Officer Yanez, of the St. Anthony police, had shouted “Don’t pull it out,” and Mr. Castile and his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, tried to assure him that he was not grabbing the gun. But Officer Yanez quickly fired seven rounds, fatally wounding Mr. Castile just 62 seconds after the traffic stop began. An instant later, Mr. Castile moaned and said, “I wasn’t reaching for it.”
“Castile tried to respond, but was interrupted by Officer Yanez, who said, ‘Don’t pull it out,’” Mr. Choi said on Wednesday as he announced the charges. “Castile responded, ‘I’m not pulling it out.’”
But Officer Yanez then “screamed, ‘Don’t pull it out’” and fired seven rounds from his gun, Mr. Choi said, surprising the other officer on the scene and fatally wounding Mr. Castile.
Mr. Choi said paramedics later found Mr. Castile’s weapon, a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun, in the pocket of his shorts. There was no round in the chamber, and Mr. Choi said he believed Mr. Castile had never tried to draw the weapon.
“His dying words were in protest that he wasn’t reaching for his gun,” Mr. Choi said.“His dying words were in protest that he wasn’t reaching for his gun,” Mr. Choi said.
A lawyer for Officer Yanez and an official with the union representing St. Anthony police officers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mr. Castile’s death is among the highest-profile cases of the countless police interactions with black men that have roiled the country, and especially Minnesota, in the last two years. The case drew international attention, largely because Ms. Reynolds streamed the aftermath on Facebook Live, calmly but firmly recounting her version of events and disputing Officer Yanez’s narrative as blood soaked through Mr. Castile’s white T-shirt.
Mr. Castile’s death attracted almost immediate international attention, largely because of the graphic Facebook video, leading to days of tense protest. The governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, suggested that Mr. Castile’s race might have played a role in the shooting. Demonstrators spent days camped outside the governor’s residence, and at one point blocked traffic and threw objects at officers on a nearby interstate. Officer Yanez would later tell investigators that he feared for his life and believed Mr. Castile was trying to grab a gun. But Mr. Choi, the prosecutor, suggested a different narrative. He said that Mr. Castile had gone beyond what the law required in alerting Officer Yanez to his gun, and that he had never drawn the weapon. Paramedics eventually found the weapon, a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun, in the pocket of his shorts as they were positioning him on a backboard. There was no round in the chamber.
Mr. Castile’s death was among several cases in Minnesota that have raised questions about race and policing. Last year, a Minneapolis officer fatally shot Jamar Clark, another black man, in an incident that also set off protests. And this year, an officer in suburban Edina was criticized by activists for confronting a black pedestrian, and a St. Paul officer was suspended after a police dog bit a man and a colleague kicked him. The days after Mr. Castile’s death brought tense protests to the Twin Cities. Demonstrators camped outside Gov. Mark Dayton’s residence, marched in St. Paul and Minneapolis, and on one night blocked interstate traffic and hurled objects at the police, injuring some officers.
Mr. Castile’s death is one of several recent episodes in Minnesota that outraged activists and raised questions about how police treat minorities. Last year, a Minneapolis officer fatally shot Jamar Clark, another black man, leading to sustained protests but no indictment. And this year, an officer in suburban Edina was criticized by activists for confronting a black pedestrian, and a St. Paul officer was suspended after a police dog bit a man and a colleague kicked him.
None of those other cases have led to criminal charges, and activists and Mr. Castile’s family greeted Wednesday’s announcement as a validation of their efforts and a possible turning point.
“Had the people not camped out at the governor’s mansion for 21 days and consistently kept this issue in the public eye, it’s possible that this outcome would not have been reached,” said Nekima Levy-Pounds, the president of the Minneapolis NAACP and a candidate for mayor of that city.
Ms. Levy-Pounds, who protested Mr. Castile’s death in July, said the charges brought “some semblance of justice” even as she noted the long road toward trial.
Officer Yanez could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the manslaughter count, and up to five years for each of the weapons charges. Glenda Hatchett, a lawyer for the Castile family, said she wished those penalties were more severe, but that she supported the charging decision and Mr. Choi’s approach to the case.
“We see this as a historic decision, a historic time,” Ms. Hatchett said.
In the days after the shooting, a lawyer for Officer Yanez said his client had been “reacting to the presence of a gun” when he opened fire and that Mr. Castile had not followed the officer’s commands. Officer Yanez’s lawyer did not respond to repeated interview requests on Wednesday. Sean Gormley, executive director of the union representing St. Anthony officers, said in a statement that “it’s important to remember that Officer Yanez is innocent of these charges until proven guilty” and that “nobody is served by a rush to judgment.”
Mr. Castile has been remembered since his death as a kind, peaceful man who knew the names of the children at the school where he worked and took pride in managing the cafeteria.
As the case against Officer Yanez moves toward trial, Mr. Castile’s mother, Valerie, urged any protests to remain peaceful and said her family was pleased with the decision to bring charges. “We all hope and pray that the right thing is done,” she said.