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Philando Castile's Girlfriend Speaks Out: 'I Need Justice; I Need Peace'

Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile, is consoled as she talks about his shooting death with protesters and media outside the governor's residence in St. Paul, Minn.
Jim Mone
/
AP
Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile, is consoled as she talks about his shooting death with protesters and media outside the governor's residence in St. Paul, Minn.

UPDATED 12:30 a.m. ET July 8, 2016 with police officers named:

Minnesota Public Radio reports that authorities have identified two police officers involved in the fatal shooting of motorist Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn., on Wednesday night:

"Officer Jeronimo Yanez of the St. Anthony Police Department fired the shots that killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop Wednesday night, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said.

"Yanez and Officer Joseph Kauser, who was working alongside Yanez, have been placed on administrative leave. Both have been with the department for four years, according to the BCA on Thursday.

"The BCA's investigation is ongoing. Once complete, the bureau says it will give findings to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office 'without recommendation for review under Minnesota statues.'

"The bureau says squad car video, among other footage and witness interviews, has been taken as evidence. St. Anthony police don't wear body cameras, according to the BCA."

Our original post continues:

Diamond "Lavish" Reynolds, the woman who live-streamed the aftermath of a police shooting that left her boyfriend dead, is demanding justice.

Reynolds delivered an emotional soliloquy to the activists and reporters who had gathered in front of the Minnesota governor's mansion in St. Paul on Thursday.

"They took his life for no reason," she said. "They did this to my daughter and they did this to me and I want justice and I want peace." Reynolds' 4-year-old daughter was with her and Philando Castile when he was shot.

Reynolds said a police officer opened fire as Castile reached for his wallet. She said that police didn't provide first aid to Castile and then kept her in custody into the early morning without giving her food or water.

Reynolds said that she started to live-stream her encounter because she wanted the world to see the truth. She was afraid that police would tell a different story.

"I did it so that the world knows that these police are not here to protect and serve us," she said. "They are here to assassinate us. They are here to kill us because we are black."

Reynolds described Castile as a gentle, hardworking man, who had welcomed her daughter as his own. Reynolds said that she will get through this but she's not sure how her daughter, who witnessed the shooting and aftermath, will fare.

We'll leave with a video of Reynolds' full comments:

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.