Jury sees videos in police shooting
Dashcam and Facebook live footage at center of officer’s trial
MINNEAPOLIS — Jurors deliberating whether Officer Jeronimo Yanez was justified in fatally shooting Philando Castile reconvened to watch squad car dashcam video and Facebook live video of the aftermath.
Both videos were replayed in open court Tuesday morning after jurors submitted a request, less than half an hour into the day, for the videos.
Before ending work for the day, jurors also requested transcripts of the dashcam video and an interview Yanez gave to Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigators after the shooting. Judge William Leary III denied both requests.
Prosecutors have highlighted the BCA interview as proof that Yanez never saw a gun, noting his frequent use of the pronoun “it” instead of “gun” or “firearm.” However, they never played the hourlong interview in court.
Prosecutors tried to play it Friday during the defense’s case, but Leary denied the move after an objection from defense attorney Thomas Kelly.
Prosecutor Jeffrey Paulsen made one last effort Tuesday to submit the video and transcript to jurors. Kelly stood to address the request, but quickly sat down after Leary said he did not have to respond.
The judge did not issue a new opinion on the prosecution’s request.
Among the evidence Leary did allow jurors to take with them into deliberations was the pair of shorts Castile was wearing when he was killed. Leary instructed jurors not to break the seal on the plastic bag containing the shorts, which are considered a biohazard.
The dashcam video captures the brief interaction that led up to the shooting, when Castile told Yanez he had a firearm with Yanez responding “OK, don’t reach for it then,” before he was shot. Castile’s girlfriend Diamond Reynolds livestreamed the shooting’s aftermath on Facebook, prompting outrage and protest.
Leary gave the case to the jury of five women and seven men about 1:10 p.m. Monday.
They must decide whether Yanez panicked and ignored his training when he fired, or whether Castile caused the deadly encounter by not following the officer’s orders.
The jury heard from more than two dozen witnesses over five days of testimony, including an emotional Yanez, who cried on the stand Friday while saying that Castile ignored his orders and grasped a gun at his right thigh. He is charged with seconddegree manslaughter and two counts of reckless discharge of a firearm.