A Minnesota police officer who was recently acquitted for shooting and killing a black man, Philando Castile, during a traffic stop last summer has left the police department where he worked.
The Minneapolis suburb of St. Anthony announced Monday that Jeronimo Yanez and the police department split under a separation agreement. The terms of the pact were not released.
The city said the agreement “ends all employment rights” for Yanez.
“Since Officer Yanez was not convicted of a crime, as a public employee, he would have appeal and grievance rights if terminated,” the city said in a statement. “A reasonable voluntary separation agreement brings to a close one part of this horrible tragedy. The City concluded this was the most thoughtful way to move forward and help the community-wide healing process proceed.”
Yanez, who is Latino, pulled over Castile, a 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker, on July 6, 2016, during a traffic stop for a broken taillight.
Seconds after Castile told the officer he was licensed to carry a weapon and was carrying a weapon, Yanez shot him seven times.
Diamond Reynolds, Castile’s girlfriend who was in the car with her daughter, live-streamed the aftermath of the shooting on Facebook, which made it become a major national news story and promped nationwide protests.
Yanez was acquitted of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety.
The family of Castile reached a $3 million settlement with the city of St. Anthony Village.
