Philando Castile's family calls for special prosecutor in Minnesota case

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A lawyer for the family of Philando Castile, a black man fatally shot by a suburban police officer last week, called Tuesday for a special prosecutor to take over the case and promised that a lawsuit would be filed against those responsible for his death.

The lawyer, Glenda Hatchett, also said she wanted "to make sure that the federal government is watching closely what has happened and what will happen." Many, including Minnesota's governor, have called for a separate investigation by the Justice Department, but so far federal officials have promised only to monitor the inquiry by the state authorities.

The family also announced that Castile's funeral would be held Thursday in St. Paul.

Speaking on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol, Hatchett and Castile's mother, Valerie, said the family was grieving and seeking answers for what happened last Wednesday along a busy stretch of road near the state fairgrounds in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb, when a traffic stop escalated into the fatal encounter.

"My son was a humanitarian; he was a pillar in his community," said Valerie Castile, who noted that her son had worked for years as a lunchroom supervisor in St. Paul schools. "The children that he worked with loved him. He didn't deserve to die like that."

[Minnesota shooting victim was an adored school cafeteria manager]

A spokesman for the Ramsey County attorney, John J. Choi, whose office would normally handle the case when the investigation ends, did not immediately answer questions about whether Choi would heed the Castile family's request and appoint a special prosecutor.

Valerie Castile said she believed that race played a role in her son's death, and called for a review of police training and state laws. Court records show that Philando Castile was pulled over at least 52 times in Minnesota over a 14-year period, a fact that Valerie Castile said indicated he was often profiled.

"You have people that drive and never get a ticket ever," she said. "The numbers speak for themselves."

Philando Castile's death prompted almost immediate outrage, with many finding out about the case through a live video that his girlfriend narrated and streamed on Facebook in the aftermath; she and her 4-year-old daughter were in the car at the time of the shooting.

[A killing. A pointed gun. And two black lives, witnessing.]

Most protests here have been peaceful, but 47 people were charged with rioting after a highway was blocked Saturday night and the demonstration turned violent, with police officers injured by fireworks, rocks, bricks and glass bottles hurled at them. Valerie Castile has called for protests to remain peaceful.

Earlier Tuesday, the St. Paul police tried to clear the area outside the governor's mansion where protesters had gathered since shortly after the shooting. After sunrise, some signs remained draped over the gate of the house and a small crowd of demonstrators were outside, though the tents and stacks of water bottles once there were gone.

Valerie Castile, who described her son as a peaceful, kind man, said she hoped that his death would lead to deep conversations and meaningful changes to police procedures.

"He is the driving force in me to make sure this doesn't happen to another mother," she said. "It's been going on too long. I used to look at TV and see other parents under these same circumstances and say, 'Wow, I hope that would never happen to me.' But it has."