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Watch: Horrific dash cam footage shows fatal shooting of Philando Castile
Image source: TheBlaze

Watch: Horrific dash cam footage shows fatal shooting of Philando Castile

Ramsey County, Minnesota law enforcement on Tuesday released the dash camera footage of Officer Jeronimo Yanez's fatal July 2016 shooting of Philando Castile.

In the video, Officer Yanez approaches the vehicle and notifies Castile that he was pulled over for a malfunctioning brake light.

Castile can be heard telling Yanez that he has a firearm in the vehicle. Castile says, "Sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me."

Yanez responds by repeatedly telling Castile "Don’t reach for it then. Don’t pull it out.”

Castile and his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, both tell Yanez that he is not reaching for his firearm.

"I'm not!" Castile can be heard saying.

Despite telling Castile and Reynolds "OK," it seems apparent that Yanez becomes uncomfortable with the situation, and places his hand on his own holster.

In the following moments, Yanez can be seen firing several shots into the car while his partner — who is standing on the passenger side of the vehicle — flees from the area of the car.

While dying, Castile insists, “I wasn’t reaching.”

In the video, Yanez can be heard saying, “F**k, f**k,” repeatedly.

Shortly after being shot, Castile's girlfriend began livestreaming the aftermath of Castile's shooting, which resulted in him dying from a fatal gunshot wound in his own vehicle on the side of the road.

Last week, a jury acquitted Yanez of manslaughter, but local law enforcement officials revealed that Yanez would not be returning to the police department.

Additionally, Yanez was acquitted on two felony charges of endangering Reynolds, as well as her 4-year-old daughter, who was secured in the back of the vehicle in a child's carseat.

During the trial, Yanez told the court that he feared for his life.

“I know he had an object and it was dark,” Yanez told investigators, “and he was pulling it out with his right hand. And as he was pulling it out I, a million things started going through my head. And I thought I was gonna die.”

Warning: the following video contains graphic violence and language.

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Sarah Taylor

Sarah Taylor

Sarah is a former staff writer for TheBlaze, and a former managing editor and producer at TMZ. She resides in Delaware with her family. You can reach her via Twitter at @thesarahdtaylor.