(Reuters) The Minnesota policeman who shot and killed Philando Castilelast year feared for his life and was simply trying to protect himself, his lawyer said on Monday at the start of the officer’s trial on second-degree manslaughter charges.
The killing, filmed in part by Castile’s girlfriend as he sat bleeding beside her in his car, sparked national outrage and triggered weeks of protests in St. Paul and Minneapolis.
St. Anthony Police Department Officer Jeronimo Yanez, charged with killing Castile, 32, fired his gun because Castile was reaching for a weapon he said he had, Yanez’s attorney, Paul Engh, said during opening arguments at the Ramsey County District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
