Last year, Philando Castile’s death sent shock waves across the country and the internet when the aftermath of his shooting was live-streamed on Facebook by his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, while her 4-year-old daughter sat in the back seat of the car.
Today, the police officer who shot Castile, Jeronimo Yanez, 29, had his day in court and the jury found him not guilty on all counts. Yanez was charged with one count of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of reckless discharge of a firearm for killing Castile, 32.
The jury, composed of seven men and five women, with two people of color, reached its verdict after 27 hours of deliberation over a five-day period.
The verdict was read in front of a packed courtroom, which consisted of Castile’s family.
After the verdict was read, the Castile family, along with their lawyer, TV Judge Glenda Hatchett, addressed the media.
Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, told reporters, “I’m mad as hell right now.”
“I am so disappointed in the state of Minnesota. My son loved this state,” she said.
“He had one tattoo on his body and it was of the twin cities, the state of Minnesota with ‘TC’ on it. My son loved this city and this city killed my son and the murderer gets away!”
Photo Credit: NBC News
NEW: Philando Castile’s mother reacts to not guilty verdict against police officer in the death of her son: “I’m mad as hell right now.” pic.twitter.com/rWsq3XnhHt
— ABC News (@ABC) June 16, 2017
