Minnesota Court Rejects Teaching License Appeal for Ex-Cop Who Shot Philando Castile

TWIN CITIES— Jeronimo Yanez, the former St. Anthony police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop in 2016, will not be eligible to teach in Minnesota public schools.

Last week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected Yanez’s appeal and affirmed the 2022 decision of the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board finding the former cop unfit to teach on the grounds of “immoral character or conduct.”

The Board rejected a substitute teaching license for Yanez in 2020 and, after an appeal, the court sent the decision back to the Board for further investigation. In 2022, they rejected the license again. Now, the Minnesota Court is in agreement with the Board’s ruling.

32-year-old Castile was a beloved cafeteria worker in a St. Paul public school when he was fatally shot by Yanez during a traffic stop. Castile’s partner, who live-streamed the shooting on Facebook, and their young daughter, were in the car when he was shot and killed.

During the traffic stop, Castile was up front with Yanez about the fact that he had a gun— which he had a permit to carry. In 2017, Yanez was acquitted of manslaughter in the shooting death of Castile.

Is this justice?