Rayshawn Taylor, Darius Jackson and Greg Crockett knew Philando Castile from the age of 12. They would hang out on Taylor’s porch and watch their neighborhood after playing football or video games. Castile was gunned down at the age of 32 by Jeronimo Yanez, a St. Anthony, Minnesota, police officer on July 6 of this year during a traffic stop.
The immediate aftermath of that shooting was captured by Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, via Facebook Live. You can view that here. On the recording Reynolds says their car was pulled over by Yanez for a broken tail light but police audio from the stop revealed the actual reason to be racial profiling. Yanez is heard on the audio saying he’s going to pull over Castile as a suspect in a robbery due to his “wide set nose.”
On Wednesday, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi charged Yanez with 2nd degree manslaughter in Castile’s death and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. In addition to Reynolds, her four-year-old daughter was in the back seat of the car when Yanez fired seven bullets into the vehicle. In making his determination, Choi reviewed both dash camera footage and body camera footage from the shooting.
You can view Choi speaking in a press conference on the charges below the fold. He stated Castile “did not exhibit any intent nor did he have any reason to shoot Officer Yanez. In fact, his dying words were in protest that he was not reaching for his gun.” But Philando Castile’s friends already knew that:
Choi called Castile "calm", "compliant" and "respectful". The prosecutor cleared both Castile and Reynolds of any wrongdoing during the incident. Choi ended the persistent, unfounded rumours that Castile had just robbed a convenience store.
None of this was news to Castile's friends.
"This was an innocent person, a taxpaying person, a citizen," said Jackson.
It's been a trying four months for the Castile family, who grew weary of defending their son's life from attack. Greg Crockett, another regular on Taylor's porch, experienced it as well, seeing all manner of conspiracy theories and slanderous accusations pop up about his friend on social media.
"He worked hard for his money. He didn't rob no gas station," Crockett said. "I swear to you I feel it in my soul." [...]
After watching Choi's announcement at Taylor's house, [Jackson and Taylor] went to a rally at JJ Hill Montessori Magnet School, where Castile worked. Taylor held a hand-painted sign over his head: "Yanez Murdered Castile".
"Some justice is better than none," said Jackson. "[But] it should have been farther than manslaughter."