Officer charged in Castile killing

Fear doesn’t excuse deadly force

A Minnesota prosecutor says the police officer who shot and killed a black motorist in suburban St. Paul in July had no good reason to use deadly force. 

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announced Wednesday that he is filing second-degree manslaughter charges against St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez. 

Yanez shot and killed 32-year-old Philando Castile on July 6 during a traffic stop. The shooting’s aftermath was streamed live on Facebook by Castile’s girlfriend, who was in the car with him. 

Choi says Castile had informed Yanez when the officer approached the car that he had a handgun. But Choi says evidence shows that Castile never removed or tried to remove the gun from his right pocket. 

Choi says unreasonable fear on the part of a police officer cannot justify the use of deadly force.