Philando Castile case turned over to Minn. county for charging consideration
MINNEAPOLIS _ The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has turned over its investigation of the officer-involved fatal shooting of Philando Castile to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office for charging consideration.
Castile, an African-American, was fatally shot by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez on July 6 during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minn. Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, was in the front passenger seat and live-streamed the aftermath on Facebook.
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi has not decided whether he will bring the case before a grand jury to decide whether Yanez should face criminal charges, or whether he will make the call himself.
Choi said in a written statement issued Wednesday that he could not provide an estimated timeline for when his office would complete its review of the BCA's investigation. He noted that the Hennepin County attorney's review of the officer-involved shooting of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis took seven weeks. In that case, County Attorney Mike Freeman didn't send the case to a grand jury and determined no charges would be filed against the two police officers involved in Clark's death.
Yanez's attorney, Thomas Kelly, declined to comment. But he previously told the Star Tribune that his client cooperated with the investigation and remained distraught by the shooting.
_Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
