JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED! STREETZ HAS THE DETAILS.
According to Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, the Minnesota police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop back in July has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm.
Officer Jeronimo Yanez will make his first appearance in court on Friday. Choi expressed that the courts didn’t find any reasons for the use of deadly force during their investigation.
“Based upon our thorough and exhaustive review of the facts of the case it is my conclusion that the use of deadly force … was not justified,” Choi said.
Social media went crazy after Castile’s fiancée, Diamond Reynolds, live-streamed what happened after the shooting. Reynolds has a four-year-old daughter who was in the car when the shooting took place.
This occurrence and the killing of Alton Sterling,which happened around the same time, sparked protests all over the country and reopened the discussion about police brutality against African Americans in the United States.
Castile informed the officer that he was legally carrying a weapon. Choi doesn’t believe that the presence of a firearm alone is enough to use deadly force.
Philando Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, said that she is happy that the officer is being prosecuted and she wants the community to be peaceful.
“We want peace,” she said. “We don’t want any protests to get outrageous.”
This is reportedly the first time a Minnesota law enforcement officer has been charged in the fatal shooting of a citizen.
If convicted, Officer Yanez could face a $20,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison on the second-degree manslaughter charge. He could also face a $10,000 fine and up to five years in prison for the other charges.
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