Police shot and killed 32-year old Castile late on July 6 after pulling his auto over for a broken tail light. His death, along with the police shooting death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La. has sparked intense protests around the country and was a catalyst for a deadly police ambush in Dallas where five officers were killed.
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Hatchett and Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, will announce his funeral plans at a news conference Tuesday. Castile’s mother, Valerie, is expected to be there.
She also renewed calls for peaceful demonstrations: “I don’t approve of violence because violence begets violence and that is not the way to obtain justice”. Her son was killed during a traffic stop in Minnesota. She said when he reached for his wallet, Yanez shot him. She served for eight years as chief judge of the Juvenile Court of Fulton County, Georgia but left the position in 2000 to become the host of nationally syndicated television show Judge Hatchett.
Without providing details, Hatchett said the family will sue and promised an aggressive investigation beyond the current one by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
“He was suddenly taken from us under awful circumstances”, Valerie Castile said at the news conference that drew national media.
America is watching the Twin Cities and the aftermath of Philando Castile’s death at the hands of St. Anthony police. Yanez’s lawyer has said the shooting was not about race but about a gun Castile had and his unwillingness to follow directions.
But Judge Glenda Hatchett and many others also believe the violent death of Philando Castile was simply wrong. “He didn’t deserve to die like that”, Valerie Castile told reporters.
Hatchett said that she has been encouraged by the very diverse show of support by protesters.
“This time, we have a man complying with a police officer’s directions”.
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“We’ve got a lot of work to do and that work is just beginning”, Hatchett said.
