Callous Minnesota cops ignored a black man fatally wounded by a panicked officer’s bullets — and instead comforted the shooter after the lethal traffic stop.
The fiancée of victim Philando Castile, at a tumultuous Thursday news conference, recounted how “racist” cops offered him no medical aid and slapped her in handcuffs after the Wednesday night killing.
Shortly after Diamond Reynolds recounted her nightmarish tale, an outraged Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton declared Castile would still be alive if not for the color of his skin.
“Would this have happened if the driver and the passengers had been white?” he asked. “I don’t think so … All of us in Minnesota are forced to confront that this kind of racism exists.”
Reynolds, who began using cell phone video to live-stream the aftermath of the shooting, showed the world her 32-year-old husband-to-be’s white shirt turning crimson as he bled to death in real time.
On Thursday, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified Jeronimo Yanez as the officer who shot and killed Castile.
It took more than 10 minutes for paramedics to arrive at the scene, with the St. Anthony Police Department cops on the scene providing no first aid for the gunshot victim behind the wheel of his car.
“They did not check for a pulse at the scene of the crime,” said Reynolds, who watched with her 4-year-old daughter Dae’Anna as Castile was shot about 9 p.m. when he reached for a wallet with his ID.
“They did not make sure that he was breathing. They instantly rushed their colleague off to the side, where they comforted him, where he began to moan and cry.”
Minutes earlier, the couple was headed home through Falcon Heights — a sleepy St. Paul suburb of about 5,000 people — after Castile stopped for a haircut in anticipation of his birthday on Friday.
The car instead echoed with the sound of five rapid-fire gunshots moments after Castile was pulled over for a broken taillight.
“Not one shot — two shots, not three shots, not four shots, but five shots!” said Reynolds. “For no reason.”
Reynolds said she was handcuffed, cops confiscated her phone and then took her away for questioning.
“I was treated like a criminal,” Reynolds said. “They were very, very racist toward me. They treated me like it was my fault. They tried to switch up my words.”
Reynolds said she was denied water or food, and detained until 5 a.m.
Explaining later why she recorded the video, she pulled no punches.
“I did it so the world knows these police are not here to protect and serve us,” Reynolds said. “They are here to kill us because we are black.”
Dayton, in a remarkable news conference, appeared stunned by the events of the previous 24 hours.
“My sense of outrage for what occurred is very real,” said Dayton. “A thorough and complete investigation is underway and all the facts need to be brought to light.”
Unlike the Baton Rouge, La., police killing of black man Alton Sterling, the Castile slaying will be investigated locally — by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, with federal oversight.
The Justice Department “stands ready to provide assistance … (and) is prepared, as necessary, to conduct further investigation,” it said in a statement.
The unidentified cop was set to be interviewed by investigators as the probe went forward.
“No one should be shot in Minnesota for a taillight being out of function,” Dayton said. “No one should be killed in Minnesota while seated in their car.”
Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner Mona Dohman said the live video from the doomed Castile’s car raised the stakes in this case.
“I think public opinion is different because the public has seen that video,” she acknowledged.
Protesters gathered outside the governor’s home before dawn Thursday, chanting “No justice, no sleep!”
But the local police and the state Public Safety Department have yet to release any details of what happened. The officer involved was placed on administrative leave.
Reynolds reiterated her story about how the cop freaked out despite Castile’s efforts to carefully follow his instructions.
The victim was reaching for his ID and explaining that he was carrying a concealed weapon when the officer started shooting. While Castile was calm and deliberate, the cop “seemed very frantic,” said Reynolds.
One of the cops could be heard on the video screaming, “I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hands up!”
The fiancée said Castile had a carry permit for his gun, although Minnesota officials haven’t confirmed that.
Castile was a popular cafeteria supervisor at the J.J. Hill Montessori school who started working in the local district at 19. Schoolkids referred to him as “Mr. Phil,” and Castile was known for never missing a day of work.
“He stood out because he was happy, friendly and related to people well,” said Principal Katherine Holmquist-Burks. “He was a warm person and a gentle spirit.”
The governor wasn’t the only Minnesota politician left shaken by the suburban shooting.
“I am horrified that we are forced to confront yet another death of a young African-American man at the hands of law enforcement,” said Sen. Al Franken.
Castile was the 123rd black person killed by police in the U.S. this year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. That’s 24% of the 509 people killed by cops. African-Americans make up about 13% of the nation’s population.
“We know there is a better way to police, an approach that doesn’t leave us with disproportionately high numbers of people of color injured and dead,” the ACLU said in a statement.
