US officer acquitted

A Minnesota police officer was acquitted Friday in the shooting of a black motorist whose dying moments were captured on Facebook video in a case that shocked the nation.

Jeronimo Yanez, 29, was found not guilty of all three charges he faced in the death of 32-year-old Philando Castile: second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of intentional discharge of a dangerous weapon for endangering the safety of Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her four-year-old daughter.

Both were in the car when the officer shot Castile during a traffic stop on July 6 of last year.

After the verdict, Castile's family reacted with anger outside the courthouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota. An evening protest was planned at the state capitol.

"I'm mad as hell right now. Yes, I am," Castile's mother Valerie told a group of reporters. "The system continues to fail black people."

The immediate aftermath of Castile's shooting was captured on video recorded by Reynolds and broadcast on Facebook Live. In it, Castile can be seen bleeding to death in the driver's seat.

The footage sparked protests across the United States and further exposed tensions between US police and African Americans.

Yanez had initially singled out Castile for a traffic stop because the officer thought he bared a resemblance to a robbery suspect.

Castile volunteered that he was legally carrying a gun. He said, "Sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me."

The officer asked Castile not to pull out the handgun. But moments later Yanez fired seven shots while Castile was still buckled into his seat. Reynolds, the girlfriend, said Castile had been trying to pull out his wallet.