The Minnesota cop who pulled Philando Castile over before shooting and killing him Wednesday did not actually pull him over for a broken tail light as was first reported.
No, St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez pulled him over because the 32-year-old man had a “wide-set nose.”
And that led Yanez to believe he was a possible armed robbery suspect.
That explains why the Yanez shot him four times as Castile was reaching for his drivers license to comply
It is not clear how Yanez was able to determine the width of Castile’s nose before even pulling him over, but that is what he told a dispatcher before pulling the car over, according to an audio recording that was first published on KARE 11, a Minneapolis news station that obtained the recording from a viewer.
The news station said it try to confirm the authenticity of the recording with St. Anthony police, but their calls went ignored.
However, the recording did include Castile’s license plate number and the exact location where the shooting took place, so there is little doubt it is legit.
Here is the transcript from the recording, posted on KARE 11:
“I’m going to stop a car,” the officer says on the recording. “I’m going to check IDs. I have reason to pull it over.”
“The two occupants just look like people that were involved in a robbery,” the officer says. “The driver looks more like one of our suspects, just ‘cause of the wide set nose,” the officer continues.
A minute and a half later, the recording captures the first report that there was a shooting.
Officer: “Shots fired Larpenteur and Fry.”
Dispatch: “Copy you just heard it? … You just heard the shots fired?”
Officer: (screaming) “Code 3! Shots fired.”
Dispatch: “Copy shots fired Larpenteur and Fry. Do you need medics?”
Officer: “Code 3!”
Dispatch: “Copy. Medics — code 3 to Larpenteur and Fry.”
Officer: “One adult female taken into custody. Driver at gunpoint.”
Yanez did not tell Castile he pulled him over because his wide-set nose, instead telling him it was because he had a broken tail light. The cop then asked for Castile’s license and registration.
Castile informed the officer he was a concealed weapons permit holder and that he was legally carrying a gun.
Seconds later, Yanez shot and killed him.
Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, then began live streaming, telling viewers that Castile was complying with the officer’s orders by reaching for his wallet when he was shot and killed.
Police ended up arresting her, holding her in a cell overnight before releasing her with no charges, but they kept her phone “as evidence.”
But because she was live streaming, it made no difference because the world had already seen what had taken place seconds after the shooting.
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