Skip to main content

Philando Castile shooting: Police officer faces manslaughter charge

A US police officer who fatally shot a black man in Minnesota in July has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, prosecutors say.

Officer Jeronimo Yanez opened fire on 32-year-old Philando Castile after stopping his car in Falcon Heights, St Paul.
The aftermath was streamed live on Facebook by Mr Castile's girlfriend who was a passenger in the car.
The death prompted widespread protests in St Paul.
The killing is one of a series of deaths of black men and boys at the hands of police - which has fuelled claims of institutionalised racism in US society.
Announcing the charge on Wednesday, district prosecutor John Choi said that evidence, including video from a police car, showed that when the officer approached the car, Mr Castile had calmly told him that he was carrying a gun.
Mr Choi said the officer told Mr Castile not to pull the gun out and Mr Castile and his girlfriend both said that he wasn't. He said the officer then screamed, drew his gun and fired seven shots.
He said that as Mr Castile was dying, he uttered his final words: "I wasn't reaching for it."
Mr Choi said that "unreasonable fear" on the part of a police officer could not justify the use of deadly force.
Speaking after the shooting, Mr Castile's girlfriend said he was shot while reaching for his ID after telling the police officer he had a gun and a permit for it.
Lawyers for Mr Yanez, who is Latino, have said that he reacted to the presence of a gun in the car. They say he stopped Mr Castile because he appeared to be a possible match for an armed robbery suspect.
But the district prosecutor said on Wednesday that Mr Castile was not a suspect in that robbery.
Mr Castile's family say he was racially profiled.
Mr Yanez is due to make his first court appearance on Friday. If found guilty, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
Mr Castile's death led to angry protests outside the governor's mansion and another demonstration that shut down a main highway in St Paul for hours.


BBCNEWS

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Arsenal’s Wenger concerned by Chinese spending power

Arsene Wenger fears the huge wages being offered by big-spending Chinese clubs could cause problems when the Premier League teams look to negotiate new contracts with their star players.  Wenger is currently locked in talks with Arsenal duo Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez as the pair reportedly seek parity with the best-paid players in the Premier League. The Arsenal manager is hoping for successful resolutions to those contract stand-offs, but he believes the money on offer in the China Super League may persuade the Premier League’s star names to ask for even bigger pay packets to stay in England. Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been linked with a move to China, with an offer of £600,000-per-week ($739,000) reportedly on the table for the Spain international. Two of his former Chelsea team-mates, Oscar and John Obi Mikel, have already moved to Super League outfits, while former Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez became the highest-earning player in the world when h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hausa Tribe Accused Britain of disrespecting their Culture and Religion

The people of Hausa tribe react to BBC HAUSA Sexual behavior research done by   Claremont Graduate   University in California on facebook. According to the research, Bisexuals enjoys the pleasure of sex mother than anyone. Some Facebook users of the Hausa tribe accused Britain of disrespecting the culture and the religion of Hausa’s. One of the users,   Aminu adam tangar   wrote in hausa: I’m not surprised, the media organization belongs to Britain, but whatever is the case: they should learn to respect our culture and religion. (Translated) Hamza Danbatta   also wrote: This is totally against the hausa culture, if this media organization is really for Hausa listeners then you’re not trying at all, may God deliver you. (Translated)
Post a Comment
Read more

Record signing, Oscar lands in Shanghai to join SIPG

 Brazilian midfielder Oscar landed in Shanghai on Monday where the 25-year-old was set to smash the Asian transfer record with a reported 60 million euros ($63 million) deal with Shanghai SIPG. Dozens of supporters chanting club songs swarmed the former Chelsea player at the city’s Pudong airport. Oscar’s arrival in the Chinese Super League comes ahead of that of Argentina’s former Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez, who signed for Shanghai Shenhua in another big-money deal last week.  Tevez’s transfer fee was 10.5 million euros, according to the website transfermarkt.com, which tracks dealings in the sport, though the reported two-year contract of 38 million euros per season ($40 million) makes him the world’s highest salaried footballer. SIPG’s general manager on Monday dismissed concerns raised by state media of a market bubble in the super-rich Chinese league, arguing prices have to be higher to attract players away from big European leagues. “The leagu...
Post a Comment
Read more