Killing of Philando Castile
On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile, a 32-year-old African American man, was fatally shot during a traffic stop by police officer Jeronimo Yanez of the St. Anthony police department in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigators process the scene | |
| Date | July 6, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Location | Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street, Falcon Heights, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 44°59′30″N 93°10′17″W |
| Type | Homicide by shooting |
| Filmed by | Diamond Reynolds |
| Outcome | Yanez fired in 2017 |
| Deaths | Philando Castile |
| Arrests | Jeronimo Yanez |
| Charges | Second-degree manslaughter Two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm |
| Verdict | Not guilty |
| Litigation | Wrongful death lawsuit by Castile family settled for $2.995 million Lawsuit by Castile's girlfriend settled for $800,000 |
About 9 p.m., Castile was driving with his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her four-year-old daughter, when he was pulled over by Yanez and another officer in Falcon Heights, a suburb of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Castile, who was licensed to carry a firearm, told Yanez that he had a firearm. Yanez replied, "Don't reach for it then". Castile responded, "I'm, I, I was reaching for...", to which Yanez replied, "Don't pull it out". Castile replied, "I'm not pulling it out", and Reynolds said, "He's not..." Yanez again said, "Don't pull it out". The police officer then fired seven close-range shots at Castile, hitting him five times. Castile died of his wounds at 9:37 p.m. at Hennepin County Medical Center, about 20 minutes after being shot.
Immediately after the shooting, Reynolds posted a live stream video on Facebook from the car. The incident quickly drew international interest. Local and national protests formed, and five months after the incident, Yanez was charged with second-degree manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. After five days of deliberation, he was acquitted of all charges in a jury trial on June 16, 2017. After the verdict, Yanez was immediately fired by the City of Saint Anthony. Wrongful death lawsuits against the City brought by Reynolds and Castile's family were settled for a total of $3.8 million.