Officer charged with manslaughter

Video of Minnesota man’s death spreads on social media

Prosecutors in Minnesota said Wednesday that they had charged a police officer with second-degree manslaughter for fatally shooting Philando Castile during a traffic stop in a Twin Cities suburb over the summer.

The shooting’s aftermath was broadcast on Facebook Live by Diamond Reynolds, Castile’s girlfriend, footage that quickly spread across social media.

Castile, a well-liked cafeteria manager at a local school, is one of at least 840 people fatally shot by police this year, according to a Washington Post database.

But Castile’s death drew particular attention because of Reynolds’ calmly documenting the aftermath and outlining what happened.

“Stay with me,” she said at one point in the video, as Castile continued bleeding in the front seat.

John Choi, the Ramsey County attorney, said at a news conference in St. Paul on Wednesday that Jeronimo Yanez, the officer who shot Castile, would also be charged with endangering the lives of Reynolds and her 4-year-old daughter, who was also in the car.

According to the 10-page criminal complaint, Yanez, could face up to 20 years in prison and up to $40,000 in fines.

The complaint that Yanoz pulled states over Castile, 32, after seeing him driving on the night of July 6 and declaring that he looked like a suspect in a convenience store robbery days earlier.

Less than a minute later, he began firing the first of seven fatal shots into the car.

Authorities said they reviewed audio recordings from Yanez’s squad car as well as video footage of the stop in determining the timeline. Prosecutors say Yanez approached Castile’s car and told him about a problem with his brake light.

After Castile handed Yanez his insurance card, Castile then said: “Sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me.” Yanez, before Castile finished the sentence, put his hand on his holstered gun and calmly replied “Okay.”

Seconds later, Yanez told Castile not to pull out his gun, to which Castile said, “I’m not pulling it out,” and Reynolds echoed the same message. Yanez then screamed, “Don’t pull it out” before pulling his own gun out and firing seven shots at Castile.