Officer’s attorneys want Castile gun permit evidence omitted
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Philando Castile’s permit to legally carry a gun became a point of focus in the days after he was shot and killed by a Minnesota police officer, with some questioning whether Castile acted properly during the July traffic stop and others wondering whether the officer followed his training.
But as the trial of St. Anthony officer Jeronimo Yanez began Tuesday, his attorneys asked that jurors not be allowed to hear statements about Castile’s concealed carry permit.
Defence attorney Earl Gray argued that Yanez, 29, didn’t know Castile had a permit to carry at the time of the shooting, so evidence about it is irrelevant in his trial.
Castile, a black 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker, was killed July 6 during a traffic stop in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights after he told Yanez, “Sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me,” according to the criminal complaint against Yanez. The shooting’s gruesome aftermath was streamed live on Facebook by Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was in the car with her young daughter.