[Graphic] Dashcam Video Of Philando Castile Fatal Shooting Released

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jun 20, 2017 9:27PM

Graphic dashcam video that shows police officer shoot and kill Philando Castile was released to the public on Tuesday afternoon.

The video, posted by the Ramsey County attorney's office, includes roughly 10 minutes of footage, starts at about 9:04 p.m. on July 6, 2016. Audio can heard at about the :30 mark below (Warning: the video is graphic). Now-fired Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez was wearing a wireless microphone at the time of the shooting.

At about 9:05 p.m., Yanez approaches the driver's side and tells Castile he has a broken brake light. He then asks Castile for his driver's license and insurance. After Castile hands over the insurance card, he is heard telling Yanez, “Sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me."

Yanez at that moment places his hand onto his service weapon. "OK, don’t reach for it, then,” Yanez says. After an inaudible section, Castile says, "I'm not pulling it out." His girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds says, “He’s not pulling it out."

“Don’t pull it out!” Yanez shouts. Yanez then pulls his weapon and first seven shots.

"You just killed my boyfriend!" Reynolds cries out.

The shooting happens very fast, with only about 40 seconds passing between Yanez's arrival at the driver's window and the shooting. The backup officer, Joseph Kauser, who later said he was surprised by the shooting, stands at ease near the passenger's window then suddenly hurries back toward the police car after the shots are fired.

In radio chatter Yanez was also reportedly heard saying, "Driver looks more like one of our suspects just cause of the wide set nose."

The aftermath portion of the video includes Yanez speaking with a responding supervisor, describing his version of events:

"And I don’t know where the gun was, he didn't tell me where the f***ing gun was and then it way just getting hinky, he gave, he was just staring straight ahead, and I was getting f***ing nervous, and then I told him, I know I f***ing told him to get his f***ing hand off his gun."

In a later interview with investigators that was also released on Tuesday by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and posted by KARE 11, he told authorities:

"...And, he put his hand around something. And his hand made like a C-shape type, um, type shape and it appeared to me that he wrapping something around his fingers and almost like if l were to put my uh, hand around my gun like putting my hand up to the butt of the gun ..."

Reynolds maintains that Castile was reaching for his identification in his wallet after, as the video shows, he tells Yanez that he has a firearm.

On Friday Yanez, 29, was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of intentional discharge of a dangerous weapon. Reynolds streamed the immediate aftermath of the shooting on Facebook. Her four-year-old daughter was in the backseat when Castile was killed. Thousands of protesters demonstrated in St. Paul on Friday following the not guilty verdict.

The video is below. (WARNING: GRAPHIC)