Minnesota officer on tape: ‘I don’t know where the gun was’
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a black motorist told a supervisor on the scene that he didn’t know where the motorist’s gun was, but added that he told the motorist to get his hand off the firearm, according to audio recorded after the shooting.
The audio is key evidence in the manslaughter trial of Officer Jeronimo Yanez, who shot Philando Castile last July in a St. Paul suburb. Prosecutors argue Yanez acted unreasonably; his attorneys say he feared for his life and made a split-second decision in the presence of a gun.
Yanez and another officer had stopped Castile over a broken taillight when the 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker informed Yanez he was carrying a gun. Within seconds of hearing that, Yanez fired seven shots and Castile was mortally wounded.
The shooting was one in a string involving police and black men nationally, and drew added attention because Castile’s girlfriend streamed the aftermath on Facebook as he lay dying. Castile’s family claimed he was profiled because of his race.