Dashcam video shows Castile shooting
Release of footage follows acquittal of Minn. police officer in death
Newly released police dashboard camera video of the fatal shooting of Philando Castile during a traffic stop in 2016 shows the school cafeteria worker telling a Minnesota police officer that he has a firearm, and after a brief exchange, the officer fires several shots into the car.
The 10-minute video shows the 4-year-old daughter of Castile’s girlfriend opening the back door of the car and walking into the arms of a second police officer in Falcon Heights, Minn., a suburb of St. Paul.
The public release of the video Tuesday came four days after a jury acquitted St. Anthony, Minn., police officer Jeronimo Yanez, 29, of second-degree manslaughter and endangering safety by discharging a firearm in Castile’s death July 6.
The decision set off a storm of outraged reaction on Twitter and protests in the streets.
Castile, 32, a cafeteria supervisor at a St. Paul magnet school, was trying to explain to the officer that he had a firearm in his car when he was shot. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, posted a Facebook video that showed her anguish as Castile bled to death in front of her.
The shooting drew admonishments from the official sphere, including U.S. Sen. Al Franken, DMinn., who said Castile “did not deserve to die,” and Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, who publicly asked whether the same scenario would have happened if Castile were white.
The video opens with Yanez approaching the driver’s side window of the vehicle and explaining that he stopped Castile because one of his brake lights is out.
A second officer approaches the passenger side of the car and folds his arms.
Yanez asks Castile for his license and registration, and Castile gives them to the officer.
Castile tells Yanez with a slight stutter, “I have to tell you, I do have a firearm on me.”
Yanez responds, “OK, don’t reach for it though.”
Castile tries to say something else, and Yanez says, “Don’t pull it out,” then he shouts, “Don’t pull it out.”
Yanez shoots seven times into the car.
Screams come from the vehicle as Yanez stands with his gun pointed inside the driver’s side window.
Yanez screams, “Don’t pull it out!”
A woman’s voice, possibly that of Reynolds, responds, “He wasn’t.”
Yanez shouts, “Don’t move!” He breathes loudly.
Reynolds cries, “Oh my God,” and a door opens on the passenger side of the car.
A little girl, Reynolds’ daughter, gets out and walks into the arms of the second officer, who carries her away.
The video includes an exchange Yanez later had with his supervisor, St. Anthony police officer Tressa Sunde, in which he says Castile was “just staring straight ahead” after he asked Castile about the location of the gun.
Yanez tells the supervisor that Castile was getting “nervous” and that he told Castile to get his hand off his gun. His account of the verbal exchange differs from what’s on the video.
Larry Rogers, a lawyer representing Reynolds, released a statement to The Washington Post saying the video reflected the allegations that Yanez acted irresponsibly.
Yanez has been let go from the police force.
“Based upon the release of the dashcam video today, it is clear that officer Jeronimo Yanez was not in control, was nervous and acted in a reckless, willful and wanton fashion,” Rogers’ statement read. “We are exploring our next steps in light of the compelling evidence of officer Yanez’s wrongdoing that led to this tragedy.”
Though Yanez told Castile he was pulled over for a non-functioning tail light, radio transmissions revealed that Yanez thought Castile resembled a suspect in a convenience store robbery.
Yanez’s lawyers did not immediately respond to voice mail messages left Tuesday.