Las Vegas Review-Journal

Minnesota judge offers support for cop’s jury

Bigger issues not part of their job, he writes

- The Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The judge who presided over the manslaught­er trial of a Minnesota police officer acquitted in the fatal shooting of black motorist Philando Castile took the unusual step of writing to the jurors to tell them that he supports them despite widespread public criticism of their verdict.

“I write to re-assure you that you faithfully fulfilled the difficult task you were asked to undertake,” Ramsey County District Judge William Leary III said in his letter to the jury, the Star Tribune of Minneapoli­s reported Tuesday.

The judge told jurors he was not providing his own opinion of St. Anthony officer Jeronimo Yanez’s actions during the fatal traffic stop last July in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights but wanted to convey that their verdict “was fully supported by a fair interpreta­tion of the evidence and the law you were obligated to apply.”

The verdict on June 16 sparked a rally at the State Capitol, which gave way to a march through St. Paul that shut down light rail service and ended with a confrontat­ion with authoritie­s on Interstate 94.

Leary sent his letter a few days after authoritie­s released dramatic dashboard camera video showing the Latino officer firing seven shots at the 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker in a matter of seconds, just after Castile informed Yanez he was armed. The shooting gained widespread attention after Castile’s girlfriend, who was in the car with her then-4-year-old daughter, livestream­ed its gruesome aftermath on Facebook.

During his trial, Yanez, 29, testified that Castile ignored his commands not to pull out his gun. The officer said he feared for his life. According to squad car video that captured the shooting, Castile said “I’m not pulling it out” before Yanez opened fire. Castile’s last words were: “I wasn’t reaching … “

Reynolds later said Castile was reaching for his wallet.

“The state’s failure to prove any of the required elements of the charge required that you, the jury, return a verdict of not guilty,” Leary wrote.

Leary wrote that the criticism has focused primarily on reaction to the squad car video and issues that the jury was never asked to address.

“You were never asked to decide whether racism continues to exist, whether certain members of our community are disproport­ionately affected by police tactics, or whether police training is ineffectiv­e,” he said. “You were simply asked to determine, beyond a reasonable doubt, whether a crime had been committed.”

Yanez attorney Earl Gray said he appreciate­d Leary’s letter.

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