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Police Officer Fatally Shoots Black Man During Traffic Stop Near St. Paul

Source: Stephen Maturen / Getty

The fatal shooting death of Philando Castile earlier this year was a breaking point for many Americans tired of fighting against police brutality.

On Wednesday, a slight sigh of relief was felt after Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announced that St. Anthony, Minnesota Officer Jeronimo Yanez faces three criminal charges for the killing of Philando Castile. Yanez was charged with second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. Choi said it was his conclusion that “use of deadly force by Officer Yanez was not justified.”

Attorney Choi chose to make the decision himself, rather than turn the case over to a grand jury, but he did enlist the help of national use-of-force consultants to determine his conclusion. Castile’s case went viral back in July following a video recorded by his girlfriend, which showed him bleeding in the car while the officer stood nearby.

NBC News reports:

In the cellphone video, Castile’s fiancée, who was with him in the car along with her 4-year-old daughter, said he was shot several times while reaching for his ID after telling Yanez he had a gun permit and was armed.

Yanez’s attorney, Tom Kelly, has said Yanez, who is Latino, was reacting to the presence of a gun, and that one reason Yanez pulled Castile over was because he thought he looked like a possible match for an armed robbery suspect.

Yanez was not arrested, but was given a summons to appear in court Friday.

SOURCE: NBC News 

BREAKING: Police Officer Charged In Shooting Death Of Philando Castile  was originally published on globalgrind.com