Philando Castile's girlfriend reaches settlement over fatal police shooting
ST. ANTHONY, Minn. -- The Minnesota city that employed a police officer who fatally shot a black motorist during a traffic stop has reached a financial settlement with Philando Castile's girlfriend and her daughter, who were in the car with him when he was killed.
The St. Anthony City Council voted Tuesday night to pay Diamond Reynolds and her 4-year-old daughter $675,000. Reynolds will receive another $125,000 from the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust and the city of Roseville, where Reynolds was detained by police.
St. Anthony officials said Reynolds served a complaint in Ramsey County seeking monetary damages and other relief from the shooting. The city and Reynolds met earlier this month and agreed on a figure, CBS Minnesota reports.
City leaders said they hope this settlement will bring healing and closure.
"If we don't approve this and we go ahead with litigation, it would just reopen the whole case again and bring heartache to everyone involved," said Mayor Jerry Faust. "It is best to settle, and this will resolve all civil litigation stemming from the incident on July 6, 2016, and it opens the door to continued healing within our community."
Castile was driving in Falcon Heights when a St. Anthony police officer pulled him over and shot him after he told the officer he was armed. Reynolds streamed the aftermath of the shooting live on Facebook.
Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted of manslaughter and other charges.
