Family, supporters of Philando Castile continue to protest his killing, officer's acquittal
Family and friends of Philando Castile Wednesday evening marked the sixth anniversary of his killing with a protest decrying deadly use of force by police outside the Governor's Residence in St. Paul.
Former St. Anthony Police officer Jeronimo Yanez killed Philando Castile during a 2016 traffic stop on Larpenteur Avenue.
The 32-year-old Black man told Yanez that he was legally carrying a handgun. The officer shot Castile five times. Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds and her young daughter were also in the car.
A Ramsey County jury acquitted Yanez of manslaughter.
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Castile's mother Valerie Castile said prosecutors mishandled the case.
"That was a circus. That wasn't no trial. That man committed a crime against three people."
The killing drew national attention when Reynolds livestreamed the immediate aftermath.
Valerie Castile said the passing of years has not eased her pain.
"Do not ever let anybody tell you this gets easier, because it doesn't. I adored my son. He was my first born only son. Taken. Stolen.”
The city of St. Anthony reached a $3 million settlement with the Castile family in 2017.
