Officer Charged in Philando Castile Shooting

CNN

The Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop in July has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announced Wednesday.

Jeronimo Yanez will appear in court on friday.

Castile's fiance, Diamond Reynolds live-streamed the incident as Castile bled to death in his car. Seven rounds were fired into the car as Castile reached for his wallet. Castile noted to the officer that he had a gun and a concealed carry permit as well.

The incident, along with the July 5 fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, sparked protests nationwide and renewed the debate over the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

Officer Jeronimo?

Had no idea that was his name.


That video was hard to watch.

a reply to: Lysergic

It was.

a reply to: reldra

Good. Every every unjustified shooting from a police officer should be met with the full force of the law.

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: reldra

Good. Every every unjustified shooting from a police officer should be met with the full force of the law.

agreed. They should be held to a higher standard that equates to the position. In this case, it seems as if justice will be served, though it won't change the outcome of the needless death.

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: reldra

Good. Every every unjustified shooting from a police officer should be met with the full force of the law.

I agree, but of course where opinions will always differ is when a shooting is justified or not. The courts will decide.

From what I've seen in this case, there is a decent likelihood the officer will be exonerated.

but he felt threatened... didnt he?

because castille wanted to kill the cop right...?

im sure there wont be anymore cops killing first then ask question later, right?

whats the bloody point in charging him...
somethings can never be changed.

a reply to: reldra

That was very tough to watch, for sure...especially the part where she's in the police car and the little kid starts talking

As with everything that happens, though, I wish that we had video from the very beginning of the encounter--when all that we have is the aftermath, it's impossible to make any sort of intelligent judgment or opinion on the matter.

Is there a body or vehicle camera that starts from the beginning with audio?

I'm sure that I'm going to catch flak for this, but until I hear what happened prior to the start of her video, I can fully understand why an officer would repeatedly tell someone not to reach for their wallet if they know that said individual has a firearm, legally or not. If I ever get pulled over and have my firearm on me (which is 90% of the time), I will inform the officer that it is on me, where it's at, and then follow his instructions to the letter so that he has zero need to feel threatened or a need to react with a lack of trigger control.

I'm in no way accusing Mr. Castile of having done this, but without the video, it's impossible for me to know for sure.

Sad all around, though, and it certainly seems that better control of the officer's trigger could have been exercised, regardless. When you already have your pistol trained on someone, and they are seated in a vehicle, it's very feasible to wait until you have visual confirmation of a weapon in their hand before firing.

a reply to: reldra

Good. That guy needs to be thrown in a cell with all the people he's locked up over the years so they can have a little private time with him.

If that is all they could come uo with for a charge, they have a very weak case.

Expect more riots when officer Yanez walks free, hopefully in the dead of winter when it is subzero in MN.

a reply to: Edumakated

I agree, but of course where opinions will always differ is when a shooting is justified or not. The courts will decide.

From what I've seen in this case, there is a decent likelihood the officer will be exonerated.

True. Because I do not know the particulars of the case, having only seen the video that his girlfriend took, and cannot say whether the shooting was justified or not, all I can do is hope that justice is served by the justice system.

TheConservativeTreeHouse has phenomenal research on this case. I'd suggest reading if you really want the details of what actually happened.

Castile Case

Long and short of it is that the victim was pulled over because he fit the description of an armed robbery suspect. He may not have been the suspect, but that is why the officer was probably jumpy to start. Throw in Castile not complying and you have a recipe for someone getting shot.

I can't say if it was justified or not, but I do know that the media isn't telling the entire story.

That shooting should have never happened. The cop was informed and the person was not a threat. A person with a conceiled weapon permit is already checked out by law enforcement, although one can be bad, most are of a less risk than anyone else when they have a gun.

I don't know what was going through that cops head, maybe he belongs in prison, maybe he just belongs in a nut house. Either way I agree with him getting charged and I hope he is punished accordingly. I can't see all the violence that erupted from this, it made no difference. The police forces are trying to fix things. Some officers are bad but the majority of them are good, they are just doing their job.

My understanding is that an individual is instructed by the trainer that if an encounter with police takes place, the first thing you say and do is to give the officer your concealed carry card and inform him/her that you do have a weapon.

Beginning to think that is probably the last thing a person should do rather than the first. If he had kept his mouth shut about the gun he might be alive today.

A grand jury would have dismissed this months ago if our justice system was not so broken.

This is just another activist prosecuter wrongfully prosecuting in a pathetic attempt to appease an angy mob.

originally posted by: SlapMonkey
a reply to: reldra

That was very tough to watch, for sure...especially the part where she's in the police car and the little kid starts talking

As with everything that happens, though, I wish that we had video from the very beginning of the encounter--when all that we have is the aftermath, it's impossible to make any sort of intelligent judgment or opinion on the matter.

Is there a body or vehicle camera that starts from the beginning with audio?

I'm sure that I'm going to catch flak for this, but until I hear what happened prior to the start of her video, I can fully understand why an officer would repeatedly tell someone not to reach for their wallet if they know that said individual has a firearm, legally or not. If I ever get pulled over and have my firearm on me (which is 90% of the time), I will inform the officer that it is on me, where it's at, and then follow his instructions to the letter so that he has zero need to feel threatened or a need to react with a lack of trigger control.

I'm in no way accusing Mr. Castile of having done this, but without the video, it's impossible for me to know for sure.

Sad all around, though, and it certainly seems that better control of the officer's trigger could have been exercised, regardless. When you already have your pistol trained on someone, and they are seated in a vehicle, it's very feasible to wait until you have visual confirmation of a weapon in their hand before firing.

That is pretty much it right there. There is no video of what actually transpired. Hard to make a definitive call.

Seriously ... cops just need to go on strike for a month or two. All of them.

The chaos would start ... and then the silent majority would open fire.

I'd call that a reset.

There was something 'bad wrong' with this incident. It emanated from Castile. And his woman ... well, her narrative still causes me to question the depths of sanity.

Have Child Protective Services stepped in on behalf of Diamond's daughter yet?

a reply to: SlapMonkey

The attorney who brought the charges said that dash cam recorded the entire encounter, with audio. The public just hasn't seen it because of the investigation and now the ongoing judicial process.

The prosecutor said dashboard camera video and audio from Yanez’s vehicle captured the incident. That video will not be released while the case is ongoing, Choi said.

SOURCE

Not only was that hard to watch, it was blatant manslaughter. I would be surprised if the officer received as harsh a sentence as a civilian charged with the same offenses.

a reply to: Edumakated

I wonder what the description was that he matched?