The Officer In The Philando Castile Case Was Just Found Not Guilty

Update: Officer Jeronimo Yanez has been found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter, The Washington Post reported on Friday. He was also acquitted of two counts of intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety. CNN reported that Philando Castile's family cried when the verdict was announced, and some screamed at the judge. Twitter erupted with outrage, with many saying justice had not been served.

Castile's mother Valerie addressed the media after the verdict was made, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

"There has always been a systemic problem in the state of Minnesota, and me thinking, common sense, that we would get justice," she said. "But nevertheless, the system continues to fail Black people. I am so disappointed in the state of Minnesota. My son loved Minnesota. He had one tattoo on his body and it was of the Twin Cities. My son loved this city, and the city killed my son and the murderer gets away."

The officer who fatally shot Philando Castile during the summer has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, the Associated Press reported.

The charges against officer Jeronimo Yanez were announced by the prosecutors on Wednesday.

The incident happened in early July in a suburb outside of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The case attracted national attention because the aftermath was live-streamed on Facebook and because it happened in the same week that Alton Sterling, another Black man, was fatally shot by the police in Baton Rouge, LA.

Update, July 7, 2016, at 12:30 p.m.: In a statement issued this morning, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton pledged to “ensure a proper and just outcome for all involved.” An independent state investigation into the death of the 32-year-old began last night, and Gov. Dayton has asked the Justice Department to launch an independent federal investigation immediately. Expressing his condolences to the family and friends of Philando Castile, the governor said, “Our state today grieves with them.”

A graphic Facebook video showing the aftermath of a fatal police shooting of a Black man has sparked protests and renewed calls to address the use of deadly force by authorities.

Philando Castile, 32, was shot and killed on Wednesday evening after a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, a suburb outside of Minneapolis-St. Paul, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. A live video posted on Facebook shows what appear to be the moments after the fatal shooting.

A woman in the passenger seat holds the camera, which shows a bloodied man leaning back in the driver's next to her and gasping for breath. Through the passenger window, a police officer holding a gun pointed into the car can be seen. The woman tells the camera that the couple had been pulled over for a busted taillight, and that her boyfriend had told the officer that he had a legal firearm but was reaching for his wallet when the officer opened fire. As she explains the situation, the officer yells for her to keep her hands visible.

"Yes I will sir, I’ll keep my hands where they are," she replies calmly. "You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir."

A moment later, the woman is instructed to get out of the car and get on her knees as the Facebook stream goes steady pointing at the sky. She is heard asking if the police are taking care of her daughter, and a child can be heard crying. The woman can be heard sobbing and praying for her boyfriend to live.

Castile was later pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Castile was killed the day after another police shooting that generated national headlines and outrage. Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old Black man, was fatally shot outside of a convenience store in Baton Rouge, LA, early on Tuesday morning. Video of the incident appears to show Sterling's hands empty after the shooting.