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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Philando Castile’s family reaches nearly $3 million settlement in his death

In this image made from July 6, 2016, video captured by a camera in the squad car of St. Anthony Police officer Jeronimo Yanez, the Minnesota police officer is shown after shooting into the vehicle at Philando Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minn., as the 4-year-old daughter of Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, starts to get out of the car and is grabbed by an officer. (Associated Press)
By Mark Berman Washington Post

The family of Philando Castile, the Minnesota man fatally shot by a police officer during a July 2016 traffic stop, reached a settlement of nearly $3 million with the city that employed the officer at the time, officials said Monday.

The announcement comes a week and a half after the officer, Jeronimo Yanez, was acquitted in the fatal shooting, the aftermath of which was broadcast on Facebook Live video and seen worldwide.

Valerie Castile, the driver’s mother, will receive $2.995 million as part of the settlement, the city of St. Anthony, Minnesota, said in a statement Monday morning.

“The city and (Valerie Castile) were able to reach this agreement avoiding a federal civil rights lawsuit which may have taken years to work its way through the courts exacerbating the suffering of the family and of the community,” the city said in its statement.

An attorney for Valerie Castile did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday morning.

Yanez had said he feared for his life during the encounter, which began as a routine traffic stop in the Twin Cities area. After being pulled over, Castile told Yanez that he had a firearm on him. What happened next was captured in a graphic dashboard-camera video recording released last week: Yanez yelled at Castile not to “pull it out,” and Castile said he was not, which his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, echoed from the passenger seat.

Yanez, who said afterward that he thought Castile was pulling out his gun, thrust his own weapon into the car and fired a series of shots, fatally wounding Castile. Reynolds pulled out her phone and began streaming on Facebook, saying that Castile was reaching for his license rather than his gun. Her recording reverberated worldwide, spurring outrage and protests.

After a jury acquitted Yanez on June 17, St. Anthony officials said he was not welcome back to the city’s police force. On Monday, in announcing the settlement, city officials said they were committed to improving trust between residents and the officers policing the community.

“The death of Philando Castile is a tragedy for his family and for our community,” the city said in its statement. “The parties moved expeditiously to resolve potential civil claims resulting from this tragedy in order to allow the process of healing to move forward for the Castile family, for the people of St. Anthony Village, and for all those impacted by the death of Philando Castile throughout the United States.”