Jeronimo Yanez Indictment: Cop Who Shot, Killed Philando Castile Charged With Manslaughter

The murders of unarmed black men in the country is a growing epidemic that needs to be stopped. After police officers in most cases have not been held accountable for their crimes, the Latino cop who shot and killed Philando Castile has been indicted with charges.

According to CNN, Jeronimo Yanez, the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot and killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop this past summer has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm.

Ramsey County District attorney John Choi, is prepared to take this case all the way and get justice for the friends, family and supporters of Castile.

"Based upon our thorough and exhaustive review of the facts of the case it is my conclusion that the use of deadly force ... was not justified," Choi said in announcing the charges.

The incident took the world by storm as details surfaced about what actually went occurred.

Latina reports that Yanez stopped Castile during a traffic stop on July 6th, and when he asked hi to reach for his license, the officer shot Castile a whopping seven times "in rapid succession."

While the evidence shows that Castile was calm and complying to Yanez's requests, it didnt stop the officer for taking the man's life. To add salt to the wound, Castile's fiancee, Diamond Reynolds streamed the aftermath of the shooting on Facebook which revealed the officer's attitude about the shooting. Unfortunately, Reynold's 4-year-old daughter was also in the car when Castile was gunned down.

Although Castile revealed to the officer that he was legally carrying a gun and paramedics found a loaded gun in his shorts, Choi believes that it didn't give the right for Castile to be killed.

"The mere presence of a firearm alone cannot justify use of deadly force," Choi explains."No reasonable officer knowing, seeing and hearing what Officer Yanez did at the time would have used deadly force under these circumstances," Choi said.

While prosecutors are preparing to give Yanez his day in court, the officer has a lot on the line. If convicted, Yanez could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and fined $20,000 on the second-degree manslaughter charge. He is also looking at up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine on the other charges.

It would have been better if Yanez was charged with murder, due to the fact that he executed Castile, but the fact that charges were even filed is a huge step.

Our deepest condolences go out to the family and loved ones of Philando Castile.