Latino Police Officer Who Killed Philando Castile Walks Free

On Friday, after five days of jury deliberations, Latino police officer Jeronimo Yanez was found not guilty in the shooting of Philando Castile.

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Yanez faced one felony count of second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of intentional discharge of a dangerous weapon.

Yanez testified in court that he was forced to shoot Castile because he did not comply with his commands and was reaching for a gun, Minnesota Public Radio reported. The police officer, however, previously said that he stopped Castile because he resembled a suspect in a local convenience store robbery days earlier.

On July 6, 2016, Castile was shot dead in front of his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her four-year-old daughter by Yanez after reportedly being pulled over for a broken tail light in the suburban neighborhood of Falcon Heights in Saint Paul, Minnesota. After approaching his car window, Yanez asked Castile to provide his driver’s license and proof of insurance. Based on video footage from Yanez's dashcam, the police officer handed him his insurance card.

At that point, Castile told Yanez that he had a “firearm” which he was licensed to carry by the state of Minnesota. Yanez replied, “OK, don't reach for it then.” Castile said that he wasn't reaching for it while Yanez twice said, “don't pull it out.”

Whereas Yanez testified at trial that he allegedly saw Castile gripping his gun when he opened fire, Reynolds testified that her boyfriend was simply reaching for his wallet to give Yanez the driver’s license he asked for.

Video footage recorded by Reynolds only seconds after the shooting showed Castile dying in the car and Yanez standing outside the driver's side of the vehicle, continuing to yell while pointing his gun inside the car.

While identifying Yanez as the shooter in Castile's death and explaining her decision to record the encounter, Reynolds stated, “Because I know that the people are not protected against the police, I wanted to make sure if I died in front of my daughter that people would know the truth.”

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Castile's death occurred within a three-day period in which two other Black men — Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Delrawn Small in Brooklyn, New York — were also fatally shot by U.S. police.

The Castile verdict was preceded by the U.S. Justice Department decision to not pursue charges against the police officers who shot and killed Sterling.

Valerie Castile, Philando’s mother, posted a message on Facebook Monday saying, “This is no longer about Philando, this is about humanity and … what we need to (do) prevent this (from) happening to our loved ones.”

Castile, who worked as a cafeteria supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School in Saint Paul, was beloved by the hundreds of children he served every day. Time Magazine reported that he was remembered by colleagues and parents as a role model for hundreds of children.

“He remembered their names. He remembered who couldn't have milk. He knew what they could have to eat and what they couldn't,” said Joan Edman, a retired paraprofessional at the school.