By Jon Collins , Riham Feshir , Tim Nelson

MPR News/90.1 FM

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announced Wednesday that he has charged police officer Jeronimo Yanez in the July 6 killing of Philando Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights.

Yanez is charged by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office with second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts for dangerous discharge of a firearm near the passengers in the car at the time of the shooting.

“I know my decision will be difficult for some in our community to accept, but in order to achieve justice we must be willing to do the right thing no matter how hard it may seem,” Choi said while announcing the charges.

Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria supervisor, was shot by Yanez after he was pulled over during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights on the night of July 6.

Minnesota law justifies the use of deadly force by a police officer, Choi said, only when it’s necessary to protect the officer or others from great bodily harm or death. He said the use of Yanez’s use of force was not justified.

Choi said he didn’t think it would be right to ask a grand jury to decide the issue, when “I know in my heart what needs to be done.”

During the announcement of the charges, Choi went over the timeline leading up to Castile’s death. He said Yanez signaled to another officer that he was pulling Castile’s car over because his “wide-set nose” matched the description of a robbery suspect.

Yanez turned on his squad lights, and Castile pulled over eight seconds later. It was just one minute later that Yanez shot Castile seven times, killing him.

Castile handed over his insurance card and “calmly” told Yanez that he had a firearm. Yanez said, “OK, don’t reach for it then.” Castile told Yanez he wasn’t pulling out the gun. Yanez screamed, “Don’t pull it out,” and took his firearm out of the holster. He fired.

“Officer Yanez pulled his left arm out of the car and then fired seven shots in rapid succession into the vehicle,” Choi said. “Philando Castile moaned and said his final words, ‘I wasn’t reaching for it.’ “

“No reasonable officer, knowing, seeing and hearing what Officer Yanez did at the time, would have used deadly force under these circumstances,” Choi said. “The totality of the circumstances indicate that Officer Yanez’s use of deadly force against Philando Castile during the July 6 death was not necessary, was objectively unreasonable and was inconsistent with generally accepted police practices.”

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton praised Choi’s work in a statement released Wednesday.

“Today’s announcement by Ramsey County Attorney John Choi is an important step toward the determination of justice in this awful tragedy,” the statement read. “I commend the County Attorney for his careful review; the judicial process must now resolve the proper outcome.”

The aftermath of the shooting was captured and streamed live on Facebook by Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was a passenger in the car. She said that Yanez shot Castile several times while he reached for his ID, and that Castile had told the officer he had a legal gun permit and was armed. The Facebook video attracted attention around the world.