A Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a black motorist seconds after the man informed him he was carrying a gun "did what he had to do" in a thoroughly justified use of force, a defense attorney argued Monday.
Seventy-four seconds is the amount of time that elapsed between the moment Yanez turned on his squad auto lights to the moment he fired the seventh and final shot into Castile's vehicle.
The jury appears to be having trouble reaching a verdict.
The material dealt with jurors carefully considering and re-examining their views and their duty to "deliberate with a view toward reaching agreement".
The jury has been deliberating for 2 ½ days in the manslaughter trial of Officer Jeronimo (yeh-RON'-ih-moh) Yanez.
Reynolds grabbed her cellphone as Castile died and live-streamed the shooting's aftermath on Facebook.
Yanez and attorneys were summoned back to a St. Paul courtroom Wednesday afternoon. The jury had reached an apparent impasse, and Judge William Leary told them to continue deliberations, saying "You should not surrender your honest opinion".
No explanation was given in open court. "If the jury fails to return a guilty verdict, this case will serve as the latest proof that the so-called justice system refuses to deliver justice to victims of police terror".
Squad-car video played repeatedly for the jury last week shows that the situation escalated quickly, with Yanez shooting Castile just seconds after the driver volunteered, "Sir, I have to tell you, I do have a firearm on me". There is shouting, and Yanez screams "Don't pull it out!" before he fires seven shots into the vehicle.
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Yanez testified at trial that he saw Castile gripping his gun when he opened fire into his vehicle, seconds after the motorist told the officer he was carrying a gun for which he had a permit, though he didn't disclose that information to Yanez. Castile had a permit and prosecutors say Yanez overreacted to a non-threat.
It's day three of deliberations for a Minnesota jury in the case of a police officer charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a black motorist.
"I think you are going to have at least some jurors who are absolutely convinced that the officer reacted unreasonably and therefore this is manslaughter, and some who are just unequivocally on the side of the officer", Schultz said. He was too quick to pull the trigger after learning Castile had a gun based on an unreasonable suspicion that he was a robbery suspect, prosecutors said.
After walking up to his window and asking for Castile's license and proof of insurance, Castile handed over his insurance card, based on video footage captured of the incident by Yanez's squad auto camera. They also asked for the transcript of an hour long interview Yanez had with Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigators, something the judge denied, according to the Star Tribune.
The police video begins in silence as Yanez followed a white Oldsmobile auto driven by Castile on a wide, lightly-traveled road.
Castile's death occurred within a three-day period in which two other Black men, Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Delrawn Small in Brooklyn, New York were also fatally shot by US police. It starts moments after the shooting.
Defense attorney Earl Gray leaves the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn. on Monday, June 12, 2017.
Clarence Castile, Philando's uncle, told reporters afterward it's important that the jurors "take their time and come up with a good decision". Deliberations are set to begin again at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
Valerie Castile, right, leaves the Ramsey County Courthouse alongside Judge Glenda Hatchett, left, in St. Paul, Minn. on Monday, June 12, 2017.
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