MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The family of a Black man shot by a Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop is seeking a federal investigation into his death.
In a Sunday, July 24, 2016 photo, King Demetrius Pendleton hangs a sign on the gate of the Governor’s Residence in St. Paul, Minn., as protesters demonstrate against the July 6 shooting death of Philando Castile by a St. Anthony police officer making a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Mich. Protesters took to the street in front of the Governors Residence again Sunday night, shutting down Summit Avenue traffic at 5 p.m. and saying they had no plans to leave anytime soon. The road remained closed Monday morning. (Scott Takushi/St. Paul Pioneer Press via AP)
In a letter dated earlier this month, an attorney for the family of Philando Castile asks the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate, saying Castile was a victim of racial bias.
The 32-year-old Castile was fatally shot during a traffic stop on July 6 by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez. The shooting’s aftermath was broadcast live online by Castile’s girlfriend.
Clarence Castile, center, uncle of Philando Castille, is joined by other protesters as they fill the lobby of the office of Ramsey County Attorney John Choi in downtown St. Paul, Minn., Monday, August 1, 2016. The group delivered a petition that has reportedly garnered more than 7,000 signatures from people who support the call for an independent special prosecutor to review the shooting death of Philando Castile by a St. Anthony police officer, during a traffic stop in suburban St. Paul last month. (Scott Takushi/Pioneer Press via AP)
In her letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and other federal officials, attorney Glenda Hatchett says Castile’s family doesn’t believe local law enforcement will be impartial in its investigation.
Local FBI spokesman Jeff Van Nest had no comment on Hatchett’s request.