MINNEAPOLIS _ Philando Castile's family has reached a nearly $3 million settlement with the city of St. Anthony for his death at the hands of one of its police officers.
The city does not admit any liability in Castile's death last year, but the settlement likely speaks to the city's fears about its chances at trial, said Andrew Noel, an attorney for Castile's mother, Valerie Castile.
"The substantial amount of money directly bears on the risk St. Anthony must have seen with going through with a civil trial," Noel said. "It's an actions speak louder than words kind of thing."
The settlement was reached without the filing of a lawsuit in federal or state court, and comes a little over a week after St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted of manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm for fatally shooting Castile during a July 6 traffic stop. After the verdict, the city announced it would offer Yanez a voluntary separation agreement "to help him transition to another career other than being a St. Anthony officer."
Attorneys for Valerie Castile and the city of St. Anthony issued a joint statement Monday morning announcing the $2.995 million settlement.
"This settlement was made possible because of the good faith efforts of the City of St. Anthony, League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust and Valerie Castile," the statement said. "The death of Philando Castile is a tragedy for his family and for our community.
"The parties moved expeditiously to resolve potential civil claims resulting from this tragedy in order to allow the process of healing to move forward for the Castile family, for the people of St. Anthony, and for all those impacted by the death of Philando Castile throughout the United States."
The settlement will be paid by the Minnesota League of Cities Insurance Trust at no cost to St. Anthony taxpayers, the statement said. City Manager Mark Casey did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The terms of distribution have not been determined, according to Noel, and will need to be approved by a judge in Hennepin County civil court.
"It does represent almost all of the league's insurance money for the city of St. Anthony," he said of the settlement amount.
Valerie Castile could not be immediately reached for comment Monday, but Noel said that she will use some of the funds to support the Philando Castile Relief Foundation.
"This foundation was established after the murder of Philando to help other victims of gun violence and add some relief as you grieve," according to the foundation's Facebook page.
"I think this ... will not only help with the work of the foundation, but help prevent situations like this from happening again," Noel said. "I know that (Valerie Castile) is committed and that she will follow through."
Noel said that attorneys for the Castile family began talks with the League before Yanez went on trial May 30, and that the settlement was finalized after dashcam footage of the shooting was made public last week following Yanez's acquittal.
Noel said that he and his co-counsel, Robert Bennett, hadn't seen the footage until then.
"It's a critical piece ... ," Noel said. "It's terrible to watch, but obviously, it's something that needs to be seen and processed."
Ramsey County jurors heard five days of testimony before acquitting Yanez, 29, on June 16 of second-degree manslaughter and two charges of reckless discharge of a firearm. They deliberated for five days.
Yanez testified that he pulled over Castile, 32, for a nonworking brake light and in order to check whether he was the suspect in a recent armed robbery. (He wasn't.)
Yanez said on the stand that he fired his gun after Castile volunteered that he had a gun in his possession, and continued to move his arm despite orders not to reach for it. Castile had a permit to carry the gun, which was later found in his right front shorts pocket.
Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, was in the car and livestreamed the aftermath on Facebook. The video garnered millions of views across the world. Reynolds' daughter, then 4, was also in the car at the time.
