A popular megachurch pastor has described the acquittal of the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile last July, as 'dirty' and 'demonic'.
Matt Chandler, the pastor of The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, wrote on Twitter: 'I can't understand how a court could land where they did on #PhilandoCastile while the department removed him...Feels dirty & demonic.'
I can't understand how a court could land where they did on #PhilandoCastille while the department removed him...feels dirty & demonic
— Matt Chandler (@MattChandler74) June 17, 2017
Castile was shot by officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop and Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, posted video of his final moments on Facebook Live.
The officer, who was acquitted by a jury on Friday after being charged with second-degree manslaughter and endangering safety by discharging a firearm, testified in court that he was fearful that Castile was reaching for a gun.
But Reynolds has said that Castile was merely grabbing for his license when he was shot by Yanez.
According to the New York Times, Yanez will no longer be on patrol.
'My son loved this city, and this city killed my son,' Castile's mother, Valerie, said as she stood on a corner outside the courthouse afterward. 'And a murderer gets away. Are you kidding me right now?'
She added: 'The system in this country continues to fail black people and will continue to fail us.'
A small group of protesters gathered outside the courthouse on Friday, expressing anger and dismay. 'It's not us that were on trial, it was the system that was on trial,' said Mel Reeves, a community activist, according to the New York Times.
The shooting last year sparked large marches, with the governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, asking: 'Would this have happened if the driver were white, if the passengers were white?'
