WCCO Exclusive: 'He Did Everything By The Law, And He Died By The Law'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The family of Philando Castile went straight to Hennepin County Medical Center after hearing about the officer-involved shooting Wednesday evening, only to learn Castile had died.
They have questions about what happened.
There were tears and hugs as family and friends met at HCMC Wednesday night. And there was another emotion over what had happened – outrage.
"He's never been in no trouble. He did everything by the law and he died by the law, the hand of the law. He did everything he was supposed to as far as being a law abiding citizen," Philando Castile's mother, Valerie, said.
"[He was] a good man," Valerie's brother said.
Valerie, with her brother by her side, said her son, 32-year-old Philando, worked as a cafeteria supervisor at JJ Hill Elementary school in St. Paul.
She said she did everything to raise her kids right.
"He had just left my house and all of a sudden I get information that he's been shot in his car. What type of a threat was he in his car? That's what I want to know, what type of a threat was that? I am so super hurt because he was a good person," Valerie said.
Family, friends and their partners in faith gathered at HCMC.
Philando's sister Alize longs to know how things unfolded and why her brother was killed by police.
"It's just, like, we're animals. It's basically modern day lynching that we're seeing going on, expect we're not getting hung by a tree anymore we're getting killed on camera. And these officers are being able to go home to their family on paid leave," Alize said.
Valerie said her son had a permit to carry. Alize said the two went through the class together.
