Protesters gather again outside Choi's office to speak out about Castile death

Protesters again gathered outside Ramsey County Attorney John Choi's office in downtown St. Paul around noon Friday, calling for justice in the officer-involved shooting of Philando Castile.

The demonstration is part of ongoing efforts organized by the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, which formed after Jamar Clark was killed by Minneapolis police in 2015.

St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez, fatally shot Castile, 32, on July 6 during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights. His death is being investigated by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), and will be turned over to Choi's office for review.

"We continue our work to find justice for those stolen from us by the police," said a post on the coalition's Facebook page about Friday's protest. "We insist that the system is not broken, it's working just as it's supposed to — to keep oppressed and working class people down. There lies the problem and solution."

Coalition activists and family members whose loved ones have been killed by police are expected to speak at the event, according to the coalition's Facebook page.

Activists with Black Lives Matter, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and Neighborhoods Organizing for Change protested outside Choi's office Monday, calling for an independent review of Castile's death.

The organizations, among others, and more than 7,000 people who signed a petition want Choi to completely turn over the case to a special, independent prosecutor.

Choi has said he won't relinquish the case. He hired a private attorney onto his team of prosecutors who will review the evidence, and hasn't decided whether he'll forward the case to a grand jury for review of possible criminal charges against Yanez, or, whether he'll make the call himself.

The BCA has not laid out a timeline for the completion of its investigation.

The Justice 4 Jamar Facebook page said it's protests in the Clark incident impacted Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman's decision to forgo a grand jury in that case. Freeman made the decision himself, and ultimately found that the officers should not be criminally charged, upsetting activists.

Castile's death sparked widespread protests across the metro, including occupation of the street outside Governor Mark Dayton's residence on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. St. Paul Police Federation President, Dave Titus, said at a news conference Thursday that some of those protesters displayed "disgusting" behavior toward officers, swearing and spitting on them, provoking them and making lewd comments.

Black Lives St. Paul activist Khulia Pringle said she didn't witness the behavior Titus recounted.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708

Twitter: @ChaoStrib