Post by Sandy on Sept 15, 2017 20:31:52 GMT
Officer Who Shot Philando Castile Acquitted of Manslaughter Charges
A jury has acquitted a Minnesota police officer in the shooting death of a black man outside St. Paul last year, putting to end a tragic saga that began with a routine traffic stop.
St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez was charged in the July 2016 shooting of school cafeteria worker Philando Castile, igniting protests and a call to action by civil rights activists nationwide against the deadly use of force by police.
After five days and more than 25 hours of deliberation, a jury decided that the state did not meet its burden for a conviction. Yanez would have faced up to 10 years under Minnesota law if he had been convicted.
Yanez had been charged with manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm for fatally shooting Castile, 32, in his car while Castile's girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter were sitting in the vehicle just outside St. Paul, Minnesota.
The jury that determined Yanez's fate consisted of seven men and five women. Two jurors were black and the rest were white.
Castile's family held each other and wept in disappointment as they left the courtroom on Friday.
"The system continues to fail black people," said Castile's mother, Valerie, following the verdict. "My son loved this city and this city killed my son and let the murderer get away," she said with high emotion.
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A jury has acquitted a Minnesota police officer in the shooting death of a black man outside St. Paul last year, putting to end a tragic saga that began with a routine traffic stop.
St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez was charged in the July 2016 shooting of school cafeteria worker Philando Castile, igniting protests and a call to action by civil rights activists nationwide against the deadly use of force by police.
After five days and more than 25 hours of deliberation, a jury decided that the state did not meet its burden for a conviction. Yanez would have faced up to 10 years under Minnesota law if he had been convicted.
Yanez had been charged with manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm for fatally shooting Castile, 32, in his car while Castile's girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter were sitting in the vehicle just outside St. Paul, Minnesota.
The jury that determined Yanez's fate consisted of seven men and five women. Two jurors were black and the rest were white.
Castile's family held each other and wept in disappointment as they left the courtroom on Friday.
"The system continues to fail black people," said Castile's mother, Valerie, following the verdict. "My son loved this city and this city killed my son and let the murderer get away," she said with high emotion.
link
