“Valerie Castile and her family are very passionate and committed to ensuring that Philando’s death is not just another statistic”, Hatchett said in the release.
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“There’s something inconsistent about what happened here”, said Albert Goins, a Minnesota attorney who is not representing anyone in the case.
A vigil, a protest and a worship service will take place this weekend after the death of Philando Castile, killed during a traffic stop Wednesday in Falcon Heights.
Apparently, Castile’s death also motivated Texas-man Micah Xavier Johnson to kill 5 police officers at a Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas on Thursday.
Law enforcement form a line across Interstate 94 on Saturday, July 9, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn., in response to protesters who blocked the highway.
Authorities say that during the traffic stop, Yanez approached Castile’s auto from the driver’s side and another officer approached from the passenger side. Neither Reynolds nor the young girl suffered physical injuries; Castile died later at a hospital.
The notion that the reason for the shooting was racially motivated, Bumgarner said, “just doesn’t ring true about what I know about Jeronimo”.
Castile’s girlfriend streamed video of the shooting aftermath live on Facebook.
In the Facebook video, Castile’s girlfriend Diamond Reynolds explains that Officer Yanez had pulled them over for a broken tail-light and then shot her boyfriend as he reached for his identification. Bumgarner, who teaches at North Dakota State University, said Yanez was admired by his classmates and professors for his “servant’s heart”. He did not elaborate. She said she saw about 30 people being peacefully taken away by officers, who said they warned protesters they would be subject to arrest if they didn’t disassemble.
“I guess I wasn’t moving fast enough for him”, said Martin, who estimated the officer was six feet away and sprayed without warning. “I don’t want the death penalty for them”. He had been given citations for minor offenses including speeding, driving without a muffler and not wearing a seat belt.
Police arrested 50 protesters on the interstate and another 52 who were marching hours later on a street near the governor’s mansion in St. Paul that has been the focus of protests since Castile was shot Wednesday night. The men stole cash and Newport cigarettes at gunpoint. The alert for the July 2 robbery described one of the suspects as having long dreadlocks and possibly a mustache, AP reported, and the second as having shoulder-length dreadlocks, a small mustache and some hair on his chin.
He woke up on Thursday to the news that Philando Castile had been shot and killed by an officer.
Reynolds said that Castile had told the officers during the stop that he had a gun with him that, according to family members, he had a permit for.
She was also talking to the officer and told him, “You shot four bullets into him, Sir”.
Reynolds responded, “He was just getting his license and registration, sir”.
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According to a poll conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, over 13 percent of Blacks drivers were pulled over by police compared to 10 percent of White drivers. Police said some protesters sat down after being warned they were subject to arrest if they didn’t disassemble. Yanez has been placed on paid administrative leave.
