Officer in Castile shooting recently completed firearms training

RAMSEY COUNTY, Minn. (KMSP) - The city attorney for St. Anthony, Minnesota released a documents Monday related to the July 6 shooting of Philando Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights. The documents include personnel information for Officer Jeronimo Yanez and Officer Joseph Kauser, the incident report, firearms training documentation and the city’s agreement with the union.  

The incident report confirms an iPhone was collected as evidence, as well as two police dashcam videos. . A graphic video streamed live on Facebook by Castile’s girlfriend captured the aftermath of shooting from inside the car.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed Officer Yanez was the officer who shot and killed Castile. The documents show Officer Yanez most recently completed firearms training on May 11 and June 13 of this year.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said Friday that he will decide later if he'll use a grand jury, as is tradition, or make charging decision himself. Choi said if a grand jury decides charges are warranted against Officer Yanez, “we will prosecute this case to fullest extent of the law.” The morning after the shooting, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said he had already requested a Justice Department investigation.

Saturday morning, the attorney representing St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez in the shooting of Philando Castile told Fox 9 “race did not play a part in the use of deadly force at all.” Attorney Tom Kelly says it was the presence of a gun and the actions of Castile that led to the deadly shooting.

“Officer Yanez was reacting to the actions of the driver,” Kelly said in a phone conversation with Fox 9’s Paul Blume. “This incident had nothing to do with race. It had everything to do with the presence of a gun. Race did not play a part in the use of deadly force at all. It was the presence of a gun.”
The shooting of Philando Castile has been followed by protests at the Governor’s Residence on Summit Avenue, a weekend demonstration at St. Anthony Village Hall and a protest that shut down Interstate 94 in St. Paul.