It was the only mention of the tragic chain of events that led to Castile’s death and the reports that police stopped him on that tragic night because he fit the description of a robbery suspect.
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Castile and Sterling’s deaths have ignited a wave of protests nationwide over law enforcement’s use of force and their relation with minorities. Castile was killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in suburban St. Paul last week.
As the ceremony started, everyone in the cathedral was encouraged to hug the person next to them. Many remained standing as Sounds of Blackness sang “Optimistic”. “Philando was a loving, giving, caring individual”, said Clarence Castile. They were among the mourners who filled the 3,000-seat Cathedral of St. Paul for his funeral Thursday. The meal was branded by family and friends as the “PhilMeal”.
Catholic priest Rev. John Ubel as well as Rev. Dr. Steve Daniels Jr. from Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church spoke on Castile’s behalf. “They are simply implying we want to be respected”. He said, “if we don’t come together, we can not survive”.
“Most of the time, he did the same”, the 23-year-old woman said of her brother.
More than 40 people were arrested, state police said.
As the first late-morning raindrops fell, the carriage climbed up the hill to the cathedral roughly 40 minutes later.
Family members arrived at the Brooks Funeral Home in St. Paul after 8 a.m. The horse and carriage is leading the procession that is taking Castile to the Cathedral.
A line of women, also in white, handed tissues to onlookers. “We hope that you understand the circumstances under which we have made this tough, but necessary, decision”.
So far the details of Castile’s interaction with the police have been largely based on statements by Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was in the auto and broadcast the moments immediately following the shooting on Facebook Live. Among them was Demetrius Bennett, 35, who displayed a portrait of Castile, dressed in a shirt and tie, tattooed on his forearm. St. Anthony provides policing for Falcon Heights. “That’s why his name should be in lights”. His attorney and the St. Anthony police chief did not return messages for comment Wednesday.
“There’s a lot of talk about why Philando got pulled over and who he resembled”.
Patricia Mergens, who was in attendance, said she worked for St. Paul Public schools as the nutrition coordinator before she retired.
In Reynolds’s broadcast, which began after the shots were fired, an officer is heard shouting: “I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hands up”.
Valerie Castile noted the attention her son’s death has given to the movement against police brutality in a quote included in the program for the service. “Philando deserves that much respect!” Many in the cathedral wore shirts printed with photos of Castile and some wore shirts that read: Black Lives Matter.
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Castile’s burial afterward will be private.
