07-12-2016, 02:37 PM
Philando Castile -- update
Thomas Kelly, the attorney for officer Jeronimo Yanez, has told the media the following:
1. Philando Castile was pulled over for a broken brake light.
2. Philando Castile was not a suspected armed robber. However, Yanez thought the driver might resemble an unidentified robbery suspect from four days earlier (which is presumably why he radioed his friend and fellow officer Kauser before pulling Castile over).
3. Philando Castile was in possession of a permit to carry a firearm, though Yanez did not know that when he initiated the stop.
4. Race was not a factor in the traffic stop, but 'the presence of a gun' which he saw in the possession of the driver is what led Yanez to fear for his life and shoot Castile.
5. There is squad car video that will prove his client Yanez innocent (that video has not been publicly released, though the family and the community would sure like to see it).
Albert Goins, an attorney who assisted the Castile family in the hours following the shooting, told the press that the officers should have initiated a felony traffic stop if they suspected he was a robber.
'A felony stop involves bringing the suspect out at gunpoint while officers are in a position of cover and having them lie on the ground until they can identify who that individual is,' he said. Weighing in on the audio, Goins said he 'can't imagine that it’s reasonable suspicion to make a stop because somebody had a broad nose'.
The family of Philando Castile has hired former Atlanta judge and high profile attorney Glenda Hatchett to represent them in filing a civil suit.
Refs:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/offi...ow-n607856
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...spect.html
http://www.fox9.com/news/172929269-story
Thomas Kelly, the attorney for officer Jeronimo Yanez, has told the media the following:
1. Philando Castile was pulled over for a broken brake light.
2. Philando Castile was not a suspected armed robber. However, Yanez thought the driver might resemble an unidentified robbery suspect from four days earlier (which is presumably why he radioed his friend and fellow officer Kauser before pulling Castile over).
3. Philando Castile was in possession of a permit to carry a firearm, though Yanez did not know that when he initiated the stop.
4. Race was not a factor in the traffic stop, but 'the presence of a gun' which he saw in the possession of the driver is what led Yanez to fear for his life and shoot Castile.
5. There is squad car video that will prove his client Yanez innocent (that video has not been publicly released, though the family and the community would sure like to see it).
Albert Goins, an attorney who assisted the Castile family in the hours following the shooting, told the press that the officers should have initiated a felony traffic stop if they suspected he was a robber.
'A felony stop involves bringing the suspect out at gunpoint while officers are in a position of cover and having them lie on the ground until they can identify who that individual is,' he said. Weighing in on the audio, Goins said he 'can't imagine that it’s reasonable suspicion to make a stop because somebody had a broad nose'.
The family of Philando Castile has hired former Atlanta judge and high profile attorney Glenda Hatchett to represent them in filing a civil suit.
Refs:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/offi...ow-n607856
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...spect.html
http://www.fox9.com/news/172929269-story