Ramsey County chief prosecutor John Choi told reporters that he will bring in Don Lewis, a private attorney and former federal criminal prosecutor, to join his office’s deliberations on whether to file charges in the death of Philando Castile outright or delegate the decision to a grand jury.
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He will be incorporating this new special prosecutor to enhance trust in the results of the case, and remain the lead investigator on the case.
Castile, 32, died after being shot by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez after a traffic stop July 6.
The incident has brought on nationwide attention after Castile’s girlfriend broadcast the incident live on Facebook.
Castile, 32, was fatally shot during a traffic stop in suburban St. Paul.
The shooting, along with that of a black man by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a day earlier, inflamed debate in the United States over police treatment of minorities. In the stream she said Castile was stopped for a broken taillight, had notified the officer that he was licensed to carry a handgun and was reaching for his wallet at the officer’s request when he was shot.
He said he felt compelled to take this case on in a time when many view the criminal justice system with “anxiety and mistrust”.
Choi has still not decided if a grand jury or he and Lewis will determine whether to press charges in the case.
“I have a lot invested in this community”, Lewis said.
Protesters have demonstrated repeatedly since Castile’s death, often outside the official governor’s residence in St. Paul. He also has worked in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He served five years as the dean of the Hamline Law School and he is a partner at Nilan Johnson and Lewis, a Minneapolis law firm.
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Lewis was hired by the city of Minneapolis past year to investigate allegations of excessive force in an activist’s 2014 arrest.
