Officer Jeronimo Yanez will be charged for shooting Philando Castile

[bofh]

This is just hitting the news - Officer in Castile shooting faces manslaughter charge:

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announced during a Wednesday morning press conference that officer Jeronimo Yanez will face three charges for shooting and killing Philando Castile on July 6.

Choi said it was his conclusion that "use of deadly force by Officer Yanez was not justified." Yanez was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm.

Castile, 32, was fatally shot July 6 by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights. A video recorded by his girlfriend, showing him bleeding in the car while the officer stood nearby, touched off widespread outrage and protests.

Choi's office has been reviewing evidence in the shooting since Sept. 28, when the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension handed him its findings. Choi said Wednesday he chose to make the decision on charging himself, rather than turning the case over to a grand jury.

In explaining how Yanez's actions did not meet the legal standard for justified use of deadly force, Choi said "it is not enough... to express subjective fear of death or great bodily harm."

The charges come a year and a day after Minneapolis police fatally shot Jamar Clark, a case that Choi has used as guidance in his handling of the Castile shooting. Choi has noted that Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman reviewed evidence in the Clark case for seven weeks before deciding that the officers should not be criminally charged in Clark's death. Freeman did not take the Clark case to a grand jury, going against long-held practices in Minnesota.

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Other sources:

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Officer Who Shot Philando Castile Charged With Manslaughter

 

[BluesStringer]

Thanks for keeping an eye on this, bofh.

So what is the process when a Grand Jury is not empaneled? Is there a Probable Cause Hearing before the jury selection/trial gets under way, or does the judge simply rule on probable cause based on information in the charging papers and police reports etc., then get on with the trial?

I guess more info about Choi will be forthcoming as ACLU, BLM and other parties seek to establish his biases (or lack thereof) against citizens and on behalf of cops. I'm not particularly thrilled with the charges as far as I understand them. Seem kind of lightweight to me for a dead man who the prosecution apparently has concluded was no threat to Yanez. Seems some kind of reckless endangerment charges of both the girlfriend and their toddler daughter would be in order too, but maybe that's a stretch. In any case, I'd say the whole thing hinges on how comfortable CA Choi is with vigorously prosecuting killer cops. Perhaps the aforementioned .orgs will dig up his record in that regard. Doesn't seem unimportant to me.

Blues

 

[bofh]

I don't have much time to follow up on this today, but if you look at the news reports, you will see that there are additional charges regarding endangerment.

 

[bofh]

It took me a while to find the probable cause statement. The charges are 2nd degree manslaughter and two counts of intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety.

 

[Deanimator]

This is a great example for the need for mandatory notification laws... NOT.

If Philando Castile had not UNNECESSARILY notified the trigger happy cop that he had a lawfully carried gun, he'd still be alive.

So much for that "put the cop at his ease" garbage...

 

[OnTheFence]

Informing can be bad for your health. One would need to practice the right words.

It sure looks as though this officer wasn't capable of accurate threat assessment.

I do worry that the standards for police use of weapons is too low of a bar.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BigSlick]

It probably didn't help that he thought he was pulling over an armed robber. The other cop on the scene said in his statement during the investigation that he did not feel threatened. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Regardless of what happens in court I believe the city will settle with the girlfriend in the form of a big check.

 

[Deanimator]

Regardless of what happens in court I believe the city will settle with the girlfriend in the form of a big check.

Regardless of the merits of any civil suits, I believe that the fanbois will call it "the ghetto lottery".

They will "explain" that Castile waited his whole life to be wrongfully shot to death by a trigger happy cop so that he could "cash in".

 

[bofh]

Here We Go - The 'He Was Reaching for his Gun' Claim

Lawyers claim cop was 'justified' in shooting dead Philando Castile because the black cafeteria worker 'was reaching for his gun' moments before his girlfriend captured his death on Facebook live[/URL]:

Attorneys for a Minnesota police officer accused of fatally shooting Philando Castile during a traffic stop say the 32-year-old black man was reaching for his gun when he was killed.

In a memorandum filed on Tuesday, defense attorneys for officer Jeronimo Yanez argued his actions were 'intentional and justified' because Castile reached for his gun, which they said was 'accessible'.

The memo contradicts prosecutors' claims that Yanez, who is charged with manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm, didn't see the weapon and made conflicting statements about it..

 

[BluesStringer]

From Lawyers claim cop was 'justified' in shooting dead Philando Castile because the black cafeteria worker 'was reaching for his gun' moments before his girlfriend captured his death on Facebook live[/URL]:

The memo contradicts prosecutors' claims that Yanez, who is charged with manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm, didn't see the weapon and made conflicting statements about it..

Sounds like, through his lawyer, he just made another one. Doesn't matter though. He'll get off.

 

[Deanimator]

Sounds like, through his lawyer, he just made another one. Doesn't matter though. He'll get off.

Look at the Charles Kinsey shooting. He, the North Miami PD, and the police union have told AT LEAST three mutually exclusive stories. There's not the slightest indication that the shooter will face any consequences at all.

 

[BluesStringer]

Look at the Charles Kinsey shooting. He, the North Miami PD, and the police union have told AT LEAST three mutually exclusive stories. There's not the slightest indication that the shooter will face any consequences at all.

I am at the point where I rarely even cite specific incidents of cop corruption and abuse. I think very nearly all of them belong behind bars, if for no other more specific reason than daily violations of 18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law. Show me a cop who hasn't violated the 1st, 2nd, 4th or 5th Amendments during their tour of duty (a shift if you prefer), and I'll show you either a retired cop or one who passed away for whatever reason before their tour began. The cop who shot Kinsey could/should get 10 years just on the basis of 18 U.S. Code 242, and could/should get more than that based on local/state laws where sentences could/should run consecutively. Prosecutors and judges who let this special treatment pass for LEOs should face the same penalties under 18 U.S. Code 242. The fact that none of them do face those penalties though, is proof that they're all on the same team, all in it together, and all law-breakers, and the system that fails to hold them to account is broken beyond repair. Kinsey's shooter is just one among millions of illegal and unconstitutional actions by government agents at all levels, from the cop on the beat to the prosecutors and judges to the DOJ to the Supreme Court that codifies rewriting the above-mentioned amendments by judicial fiat.

It's why I can say with confidence that Yanez will get off. The game is fixed, which really means it's broken beyond repair.

Blues

 

[bofh]

The trial is on:

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Philando Castile case: Opening day of trial begins with jury selection, legal sparring

 

[BluesStringer]

The trial is on:

Link Removed
Philando Castile case: Opening day of trial begins with jury selection, legal sparring

Thanks bofh.

What do you think about the judge "leaning towards" editing out the portion of Reynolds' recording telling Yanez and the FaceBook audience (if any) that Castile had a permit to carry?

Combined with the defense's clear intentions to paint Castile as having smoked pot in close time-proximity to the killing, it looks to me like every stereotype of young black men in the book, including trying to suppress information concerning his status as a permitted carrier, will be used to confuse the jury into thinking Castile was a thug on-par with Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin.

I guess we'll see, but I'm pretty sure we're about to sit around our computers and TVs to watch the next installment of Kabuki Theater for the Masses. Let the games begin....

Blues

 

[bofh]

Thanks bofh.

What do you think about the judge "leaning towards" editing out the portion of Reynolds' recording telling Yanez and the FaceBook audience (if any) that Castile had a permit to carry?

Combined with the defense's clear intentions to paint Castile as having smoked pot in close time-proximity to the killing, it looks to me like every stereotype of young black men in the book, including trying to suppress information concerning his status as a permitted carrier, will be used to confuse the jury into thinking Castile was a thug on-par with Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin.

I guess we'll see, but I'm pretty sure we're about to sit around our computers and TVs to watch the next installment of Kabuki Theater for the Masses. Let the games begin....

Blues

Pretty much.

 

[Deanimator]

The defense may have painted themselves into a corner.

If there was no reason for the cop to believe that Castile had a CCW credential, neither was there any for him to believe that Castile was impaired in any specific way. The drug claim may be excluded on the same basis as the CCW license.

 

[bofh]

This is certainly interesting: Minnesota officer on tape: ‘I don’t know where the gun was’. Most notably:

An officer who arrived on the scene, Roseville police Officer Juan Toran, said he performed CPR on Castile. As paramedics were rolling Castile onto a backboard, Toran said he saw the gun slide out of Castile’s front right pocket. Toran said he didn’t even have to reach into the pocket to grab it.

But St. Paul firefighter Eric Torgerson, a paramedic, testified that he saw an officer reach deeply into the pocket to retrieve the pistol.

This is also interesting: Dashcam footage of Philando Castile shooting played in Yanez trial. Most notably:

Castile was shot after voluntarily telling Yanez he had a gun, Dusterhoft said, adding that Yanez’s instructions — “OK, don’t reach for it, then” — could have been clearer.

“He didn’t tell Mr. Castile to freeze,” the prosecutor said. “He didn’t tell him to put his hands up.”

Defense attorney Paul Engh argued in his opening statements that Castile ignored Yanez’s orders, forcing the officer to act within his training and accepted police protocol to protect himself.

“He has his hand on the gun,” Engh said of Castile’s movements in the car. “The next command is, ‘Don’t pull it out.’ … [Yanez] can’t retreat … But for Mr. Castile’s continuous grip on the handgun, we would not be here.”

 

[BluesStringer]

This is also interesting: Dashcam footage of Philando Castile shooting played in Yanez trial. Most notably:

“He has his hand on the gun,” Engh said of Castile’s movements in the car. “The next command is, ‘Don’t pull it out.’ … [Yanez] can’t retreat … But for Mr. Castile’s continuous grip on the handgun, we would not be here.”

I've read a ton of coverage on Castile's killing, and this is the first I've read of him actually gripping, or even touching, his gun. In Reynolds' video Yanez says he told him not to "reach" for it, yet his attorney says he had a "continuous" grip on it. Can't reach for something you're already gripping. Sounds like the attorney is counting on the jury being as devoid of logic and reason as he himself is. Unfortunately, he may be right.

Blues

 

[bofh]

I've read a ton of coverage on Castile's killing, and this is the first I've read of him actually gripping his gun. In Reynolds' video Yanez says he told him not to "reach" for it, yet his attorney says he had a "continuous" grip on it. Can't reach for something you're already gripping. Sounds like the attorney is counting on the jury to be as devoid of logic and reason as he himself is. Unfortunately, he may be right.

Blues

Both of the quotes I mentioned show that the defense came well prepared with a story to tell for the jury that is contradicted by facts.

 

[Deanimator]

Both of the quotes I mentioned show that the defense came well prepared with a story to tell for the jury that is contradicted by facts.

The question is whether the prosecution values Castile's life sufficiently more than Yanez's career to point that out.