The Minnesota native was killed last week after an encounter with police in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul on July 6.
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The Rev Steve Daniels Jr. of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church asked during the funeral why racial profiling still happens. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, streamed the aftermath live on Facebook and said Castile was shot while reaching for his ID after telling the officer he had a gun permit and was armed.
The procession is taking the body of Philando Castile to the Cathedral of St. Paul. After the ecumenical service ended, people lined up on either side of the cathedral’s long stairs holding “Unite for Philando” signs as pallbearers dressed in white raised clenched fists while carrying out Castile’s casket.
According to the news station, the procession started near J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School, where Castile was a beloved worker in the cafeteria, before making its way to St. Paul Cathedral on Thursday morning.
Mourners hug Diamond Reynolds as the casket of her boyfriend, Philando Castile, is carried Thursday into the Cathedral of St. Paul for visitation.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the funeral for Philando Castile Thursday at the St. Paul Cathedral.
The officer, Jeronimo Yanez, is on paid leave while the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigates. On July 7, a gunman killed five officers and during a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas.
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Dayton has called for a federal investigation into the shooting death of Castile.
