Some good news has befallen a tragic situation. St. Anthony police Officer Jeronimo Yanez, the cop who killed Philando Castile in July, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. This is reportedly the first time a police officer has been charged in Minnesota in more than 35 years. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi had this to say about the decision:

“Philando Castile was not resisting or fleeing … There was absolutely no criminal intent exhibited by him throughout this encounter. …He was respectful and compliant. … He volunteered in good faith that he had a firearm beyond what the law requires.”

Castile’s altercation with Yanez was live streamed on Facebook by Castile’s girlfriend, a move which undoubtedly has led to this groundbreaking decision to press charges. Following the shooting, protests erupted across America and beyond. Philando Castile was 37 at the time of his death. 

On Friday, a judge found Jeronimo Yanez, the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop last year, not guilty of second-degree manslaughter. He also was acquitted & found not guilty of two counts of intentional discharge of firearm that endangers safety, ultimately meaning he’s walking away scotch free now. The jury of 12, which included two black people, had to sort through the competing narratives lasting 5 days of deliberation.

Mr. Castile’s death became world wide news last Summer almost immediately after his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, streamed the aftermath live on Facebook. From that moment, the case hinged largely on conflicting accounts of what Mr. Castile was doing before he was shot. Officer Yanez claimed that he believed Mr. Castile was grabbing a gun. Meanwhile, Ms. Reynolds testified in court, that Mr. Castile had been trying to cooperate and reach for only his driver’s license.

Following the verdict, Castile’s mother called her son’s death a murder and tied the verdict to what she described as systemic racism in Minnesota.

“The system continues to fail black people, and it will continue to fail you all,” Valerie Castile said. “My son loved this city and this city killed my son. And the murderer gets away. Are you kidding me right now”

Check out the post-verdict interviews (below) and sound off in the comments.