Officer's attorney blames Philando Castile in Minnesota police shooting
By Associated Press | CBS News | December 15, 2016MINNEAPOLIS -- Attorneys for a Minnesota police officer who killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop in July are asking that charges against him be dismissed, saying Castile was negligent in his own death and claiming he was high on marijuana while driving and did not obey the officer’s commands.
In court documents dated Wednesday and obtained by The Associated Press, attorneys for St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez say that if Castile was negligent, then Yanez should be exonerated.
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Yanez, who is Latino, has been charged with manslaughter and other offenses. Prosecutors said last month that he acted unreasonably and was not justified in using deadly force.
But in the defense documents, attorney Earl Gray wrote that Castile never told Yanez he had a permit to carry. Gray wrote that an objective review of squad car video confirms Yanez’s account of self-defense, “but more importantly why Mr. Castile himself was culpably negligent and was the substantial cause of his own demise.”
“He should not even have been driving while under the influence. He should have showed his hands. He should not have reached for the handgun,” Gray wrote.
In the court documents, Gray wrote that autopsy results showed Castile had high levels of THC in his blood, and a defense expert determined he was intoxicated. Gray said that explains why Castile didn’t follow directions, stared straight ahead and didn’t show his hands.
Gray said that behavior contradicts training Castile received when he got his permit to carry. He added that Castile kept his right hand in or near the pocket where the gun was found.
Gray wrote, “how could it be that Officer Yanez knew or could have known that when Mr. Castile reached for his gun he would not shoot a police officer dead.”
Castile’s family has claimed he was profiled because of his race, and his death renewed concerns about how law enforcement officers interact with minorities.
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