Half of arrestees where Castile died are black
MINNEAPOLIS — Police in the suburban St. Paul area where a black man was shot and killed during a traffic stop have disproportionately arrested African-Americans, according to an analysis of data provided by the department that shows nearly half of the people arrested this year in the heavily white community were black.
The St. Anthony Police Department provided arrest and citation data in response to requests from The Associated Press and other media after the death of 32-year-old Philando Castile, who was shot several times by an officer in Falcon Heights last week. His death and other recent killings of black men by police around the country have renewed concerns about how law enforcement officers interact with minorities.
Castile’s girlfriend, who streamed the aftermath of his July 6 shooting live on Facebook, said in her video that Castile was complying with the officer’s request to provide ID when he was repeatedly shot. A lawyer for the officer has said Castile was considered a “possible match” for a suspect in a recent armed robbery.
Court records show he had been stopped or ticketed more than 50 times in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, but he had no serious criminal record.