Officer Who Shot Philando Castile Charged with Second-Degree Manslaughter

The Minnesota police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile in July was formally charged with second-degree manslaughter Wednesday.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi also brought numerous firearms charges against officer Jeronimo Yanez, who killed Castile during a traffic stop in the suburb of Falcon Heights on July 6. The shooting’s aftermath was streamed on Facebook Live by Castile's girlfriend, who was sitting in the front seat of his car.

Choi said that under Minnesota law, Yanez's killing was not justified.

"I have given Officer Yanez every benefit of the doubt on his use of deadly force, but I cannot allow the death of a motorist who was lawfully carrying a firearm under these facts and circumstances to go unaccounted for," Choi said at a news conference Wednesday.

Castile, 32, was stopped for a broken tail light and mentioned to Yanez that he had a permit for a concealed weapon. He was reaching into his pocket in response to Yanez's request for his license, according to his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds. Yanez then opened fire, Reynolds said.

His girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter was sitting in the backseat during the shooting. The minutes following Castile's death were seen by hundreds of thousands of Americans.

"Based upon our full and exhaustive review of the facts, I have come to the conclusion that there simply was no justification for the use of deadly force by officer Yanez in this case," Choi said. "No reasonable officer who knew, saw or heard what officer Yanez did at the time would have used deadly force under these circumstances."

Choi said that after weeks of thorough investigation and deliberation he decided to charge Yanez rather than referring the case to a grand jury.

"My conscience tells me it would be wrong to ask a grand jury make this decision when I know in my heart what must be done," Choi said.

According the criminal complaint, Jeffrey Noble, an expert on police procedure retained by the Ramsey County Attorney s Office, said the totality of the circumstances indicate that Yanez's use of deadly force against Castile during the stop was not necessary, was objectively unreasonable, and was inconsistent with generally accepted police practices.

In addition, Noble said that Yanez's discharge of his firearm seven times into a vehicle in very
close proximity towards Reynolds and her four-year-old daughter endangered their safety.

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office began deliberating on what actions to take in the case after the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension turned over its findings to the county in September.

Weeks of protest in the Twin Cities followed the fatal shooting, including a weeks-long demonstration that shut down the street in front of the governor's mansion in Saint Paul. Also in the days after the shooting, about 100 arrests were made after demonstrators blocked Interstate 94.

Following Wednesday's announcement, Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman praised Choi, saying "He has made one of the hardest decisions a prosecutor has to make."

"While I have not reviewed the evidence he and his team analyzed, I am confident that his decision was grounded in a thorough investigation of the facts and a deep commitment to upholding his public responsibility. His willingness to be personally responsible for this decision—and to set forth the basis for it— is indicative of his intellect and integrity," Coleman added.

“I also want, once again, to extend my deepest sympathies to the Castile family. Nothing about this decision will ease their pain or redeem their loss. We will continue to hold them in our thoughts as this process moves forward.”

Timeline of events

The following is a summary of the events immediately preceding the shooting, as reported in the criminal complaint. The events were captured on the squad car's video and audio recordings.

9:05:00 p.m. Castile's vehicle came to a complete stop next to the curb.

9:05:38 pm. Yanez asked for Castile's driver's license and proof of insurance.

9:05:48 p.m. Castile provided his license and proof of insurance.

9:05:52 p.m. Castile calmly informed Yanez: "Sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me."

Before Castile completed the sentence, Yanez interrupted and calmly replied "O.K." and placed his right hand on the holster of his own gun.

9:05:55 p.m. Yanez said "Okay, don't reach for it, then." Castile responded: "I'm...I in [inaudible] reaching" before being again interrupted by Yanez, who said "Don't pull it out."

Castile responded "I'm not pulling it out," and Reynolds also said "He's not pulling it out."

Yanez screamed "Don't pull it out" and quickly pulled out his own gun.

Yanez then fired seven shots in the direction of Castile in rapid succession. The seventh shot was fired at
9:06:02 p.m.

During the incident, Officer Joseph Kauser, who responded to the incident as backup, did not touch or remove his gun, according to the criminal complaint.

9:06:03 p.m. Reynolds yelled "You just killed my boyfriend!"

9:06:04 p.m. Castile moaned and said "I wasn't reaching for it."

9:06:05 p.m. Reynolds loudly said "He wasn't reaching for it." Before she completed her sentence, Yanez again screamed "Don't pull it out!" Reynolds responded "He wasn't."

Yanez yelled "Don't move!" before adding an expletive.

According to the criminal complaint, assisting officers arrived, unbuckled Castile and removed him from the vehicle. They performed CPR on Castile until paramedics arrived and took over. When officers and paramedics rolled Castile to his right side so they could place a backboard under him, they saw and removed a 40 caliber semiautomatic handgun from inside the large right front pocket of Castile's shorts.

The gun contained a loaded magazine but did not have a round in the chamber. Castile was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). In the HCMC emergency department, medical personnel recovered a holster and wallet from one of Castile's pockets, although it was unclear which pocket these items were in at the time of the shooting.

In Castile's wallet was his Minnesota driver's license and his permit to carry a pistol, according to the criminal complaint.

Image via Lauderdale Police Department