Dashcam video from police-involved shooting of Philando Castile released

Ramsey County(MINNEAPOLIS) — Dashcam video from the fatal shooting of a black man by a Minnesota police officer was released by officials Tuesday, days after the officer was acquitted in the man’s death.

Philando Castile, 32, was shot several times by St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez, who is Latino, in July 2016 after Castile was pulled over with his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and Reynolds’ 4-year-old daughter in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, a suburb of Saint Paul. Reynolds live-streamed the aftermath on Facebook Live. Yanez has since been fired from the police force.

The 10-minute video, which was released by Ramsey County in Minnesota, shows Yanez driving behind the white sedan Castile was driving before pulling him over.

Yanez approaches the car and says, “Hello, sir,” to Castile, who responds, “How are you?”

“Good,” Yanez replies, telling him that the reason why he pulled him over is because the brake light to the car is out. He then asks for Castile’s license and insurance while another officer stands on the passenger side of the car.

Castile hands over a piece of paper to Yanez before he says, “Sir, I have to tell you: I do have a firearm on me.”

“OK. Don’t reach for it, then,” Yanez says to Castile as he appears to reach for his own weapon. “Don’t pull it out.”

As Yanez says “Don’t pull it out” a second time, he grabs his gun and points it inside the car, firing multiple rounds. Reynolds can be heard screaming inside the car as the shooting occurs.

Yanez then orders her not to move before saying “f—” multiple times.

Reynolds’ young daughter, who was in the backseat of the car at the time of the shooting, then exits through the passenger side, and the other officer on the scene picks her up and carries her out of view.

As Reynolds explains that Castile was reaching to get out his ID, Yanez says, “I told him not to reach for it.”

Yanez then radios for help, and once additional officers arrive minutes later, they pull Castile’s body out of the car and attempt to render aid.

Once the ambulance arrives, Yanez can be heard off camera, breathing heavily as he says, “He had his grip a lot wider than a wallet, and I don’t know where the gun was. He didn’t tell me where the f—— gun was.”

The video was played during Yanez’s trial. Yanez was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter last Friday and the city of St. Anthony announced that day that Yanez had been fired.

Prosecutors claimed that Yanez did not see the gun and acted unreasonably while the defense argued that Yanez saw Castile’s hand on the gun, which he had a permit to carry, the AP said.

Defense attorney Earl Gray said that the “verdict was correct” and that the “jury worked hard.” Another defense attorney, Thomas Kelly, that while Castile’s death was a tragedy, he is “satisfied” with the verdict and “relieved” that the trial is over.

After the verdict was announced Friday, Castile’s family addressed the media, applauding the efforts of Special Prosecutor Don Lewis and his team.

“I don’t know what more could have been done,” said Castile family attorney Glenda Hatchett. “I am disappointed. My heart breaks for this family. My heart breaks for this nation.”

Philando Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, said she was “mad as hell” with the verdict and called Yanez a “murderer.”

“The system continues to fail all black people,” she said.

She continued, “I am so disappointed in the state of Minnesota. My son loved this state.”

Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

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