Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted of manslaughter in the shooting death of motorist Philando Castile on Friday. (Star Tribune via AP)
Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez has been dismissed as a police officer after he was acquitted of manslaughter in the shooting death of black motorist Philando Castile.
The city of St. Anthony said Friday afternoon that the public "will be best served" if Yanez no longer works for the city.
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Memorial photo of Philando Castile (AP)
The decision to dismiss Yanez came after he was found not guilty on all counts related to the incident.
He was also cleared of two lesser charges of endangering Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her daughter for firing his gun into the car near them.
The city plans to offer Yanez a "voluntary separation" so he can find another job, but will not return to active duty, according to the police force.
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Yanez pulled over 32-year-old Castile for a broken taillight in July 2016. The officer shot Castile five times after Castile said he was carrying a gun.
The shooting drew widespread attention, mainly because Castile’s girlfriend livestreamed the aftermath on Facebook.
Yanez, who is Latino, “did what he had to do” when he shot Castile, a defense attorney argued during the trial. Yanez testified that he feared for his life after Castile refused to not pull out his gun, despite the officer’s commands.
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Prosecutors argued that Yanez never saw the gun, and that he overreacted to a non-threat.
The trial included squad-car video of the traffic stop between the two, but footage did not show what happened in Castile’s car, leaving it up to the jury to believe Yanez’s testimony.
After three white alternates were dismissed after closing arguments, the 12-member jury included two black and ten white people.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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