Jeronimo Yanez shot Castile dead while he was sitting in his car, the aftermath of which was streamed on Facebook, charged with second-degree manslaughter

A Minnesota police officer has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the killing of Philando Castile, an African American who was fatally shot in a suburb of St Paul, Minnesota, in July.

Ramsey County attorney John Choi announced the manslaughter charge and two other felony charges on Wednesday, more than four months after Castile, 32, was killed. St Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez will have his first court appearance on Friday, Choi said. Yanez was also charged with two counts of felony discharge of a firearm. The maximum sentence for the second-degree manslaughter charge is 10 years and a $20,000 fine.



Minnesota governor blames Philando Castile police killing on racial bias Read more

Castile’s death was among a number of police killings of black Americans that spurred protests and led to calls for police reforms across the country. The aftermath of the shooting was live-streamed on Facebook by his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds. The video, which did not capture the shooting itself, quickly went viral amid a contentious nationwide conversation about police use of deadly force.

Choi did not release the dashboard camera footage which captured the entire shooting, but recounted in great detail the dialogue and events preceding Castile’s death. He described a compliant and law-abiding motorist who calmly informed Yanez that he was armed with a concealed weapon before Yanez pulled the trigger.

Yanez suspected Castile of being involved in a nearby robbery involving two black men; he radioed another officer saying that the occupants of the car – Castile, Reynolds, and Reynolds’ four-year-old daughter – “just look like the people that were involved in a robbery”, according to the criminal complaint. Yanez continued: “The driver looks more like one of our suspects just because of the wide-set nose.”

Yanez ran Castile’s license plate and found that the car was not stolen and that Castile was not wanted on any warrants, but decided to pull over Castile because of a broken tail light, Choi said.

Castile “immediately complied” when Yanez initiated the traffic stop, pulling over his car just eight seconds after Yanez turned on his lights, according to Choi. Yanez then informed Castile about his broken tail light, and asked for his driver’s license and proof of insurance. Castile gave his insurance card.

Choi then recounted the final moments of Castile’s life: “Calmly and in a non-threatening manner, [Castile] informed Officer Yanez, ‘Sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me.’”

According to the prosecutor’s account, Yanez initially replied “OK,” while placing his hand on his own holstered gun. Yanez interrupted as Castile tried to respond, saying “don’t pull it out” multiple times in a brief exchange before shooting Castile seven times, about one minute after the traffic stop began, Choi said.

Castile muttered his final words – “I wasn’t reaching for it” – as Yanez continued to scream at him: “Don’t pull it out!”



“Based upon the evidence we believe that Castile never removed nor tried to remove his handgun from his front, right pocket,” Choi said on Wednesday. “I would submit that no reasonable officer knowing, seeing and hearing what Officer Yanez did at the time would have used deadly force under these circumstances.” Choi noted that another officer at the scene, who was standing by the passenger side window during the traffic stop, did not unholster or fire his gun.

Yanez’s attorney has previously said that Yanez opened fire in response to “the presence of that gun and the display of that gun”, although prosecutors said on Wednesday the gun was never displayed.

Paramedics found Castile’s gun in his shorts pocket, Choi said. In his wallet were his driver’s license and his permit to carry a concealed weapon.

An attorney for Yanez, who is Latino, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.