Jurors in the case against Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez for the shooting death of Philando Castile began deliberations this afternoon.  No verdict was determined and the jury will continue deliberating tomorrow.  Yanez is charged in Ramsey County with second-degree manslaughter and two counts of reckless discharge of a firearm for shooting Castile in Falcon Heights.

Officer Jeronimo Yanez fatally shot Philando Castile, a 32-year-old cafeteria worker during a traffic stop on July 6, 2016. The shooting drew widespread national attention because Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, livestreamed the aftermath on Facebook.

Minnesota – […] Defense attorney Earl Gray told jurors that the state “failed miserably” in presenting its case. He emphasized the defense’s main contention: that Castile failed to follow orders because he was too stoned from smoking marijuana and grabbed a gun in his right pocket, forcing Yanez to shoot.

“None of this would have happened but for Philando Castile…,” Gray said. “[Yanez] sees the gun and [Castile] doesn’t follow orders. That’s enough to pull your gun out and end the threat. “[Yanez] had to make a split-second judgment.”

The jury heard from more than two dozen witnesses over five days of testimony last week, including an emotional Yanez, who cried on the stand Friday while saying that Castile ignored his orders and grabbed a gun at his right thigh.

Prosecutors argued that Yanez, who is Mexican-American, racially profiled Castile, who is black, when he stopped him on July 6 for a nonworking brake light in order to verify whether he was a suspect in the armed robbery of a nearby convenience store four days earlier.

[…] Several community activists spoke afterward, including Mel Reeves and the Rev. Danny Givens. Reeves said the prosecution presented a strong case regarding a traffic stop that should have never happened.

[…] Said Reeves: “If the verdict comes back guilty, we will celebrate. If not, we will protest.”  (read more)

Hey, at least he didn’t say “let’s burn this bitch down.”

Progress…

Lavish “Diamond” RenoldsABC Interview (2016) Provable falsehoods.

How a dangerous lie explodes on Social Media.

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