Black-deaths protest turns lethal

[FRIDAY UPDATES: Police: 5 officers dead, 6 hurt in Dallas protest shooting]

WASHINGTON -- On the same day that Minnesota's governor called for a federal investigation into a fatal police shooting of a black man, shots rang out late Thursday in Dallas during a protest of that killing.

Three police officers and a Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer were reported slain late Thursday.

The Dallas gunfire was blamed on at least two snipers firing down during the rally, hitting 11 police officers.

President Barack Obama, in Poland for a NATO summit, called today on U.S. law enforcement to root out bias in its ranks and said all Americans should be troubled by the frequency of police shootings of blacks and Hispanics.

On Wednesday, in a suburb of St. Paul, Minn., Philando Castile, 32, was fatally shot during a traffic stop less than 48 hours after a fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge.

Obama insisted that shootings like those two are not isolated occurrences.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton's call for the U.S. investigation into Castile's death, echoed one made by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.

Obama said the two police shootings this week were symptoms of a "broader set of racial disparities" in the justice system that aren't being fixed quickly enough.

He ticked through a list of statistics that he said showed that concerns about bias are real: blacks being shot by police or arrested at more than twice the rate of white Americans.

"When incidents like this occur, there's a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels as if it's because of the color of their skin, they are not being treated the same," Obama said. "And that hurts. And that should trouble all of us."

Obama's statements reflected his growing frustration and willingness to speak out publicly about police killings despite the risk of making law enforcement officers feel under attack. He emphasized that he and other Americans appreciate the risks police officers take and mourn officers who die in the line of duty.

The president spoke at a hotel in Warsaw early today. He echoed comments that he made the day before in a Facebook post as the back-to-back police shootings capturing the nation's attention.

The aftermath of the police shooting in Falcon Heights, Minn., was posted on Facebook by a woman in the car. The police officer had pulled over the vehicle because it had a broken taillight.

The 10-minute video shows Castile, who had been shot several times, slumped against the woman. As she recorded the events, her 4-year-old daughter sat in the back seat and an officer stood just outside the driver's-side window, still aiming his gun at the mortally wounded man at point-blank range.

"He killed my boyfriend," Diamond "Lavish" Reynolds said in the video that was posted on her Facebook page.

Castile died at a Minneapolis hospital, a family member said.

Late Thursday, Minnesota state officials identified Jeronimo Yanez as the officer who shot and killed Castile. The state agency investigating the shooting said Yanez and officer Joseph Kauser, who have both been with the St. Anthony Police Department for four years, had been placed on administrative leave.

Dayton, a Democrat, released a statement on the shooting, saying he had spoken with a White House official to request a Justice Department investigation.

"Nobody should be shot and killed in Minnesota for a taillight being out of function," Dayton said. "Would this have happened if those passengers would have been white? I don't think it would have."

U.S. Sen Al Franken and U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, both Minnesota Democrats, also called for a federal investigation. In a statement Thursday morning, Franken said he was "horrified and heartbroken" by Castile's death.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the state agency investigating the shooting, said it was conducting initial interviews with witnesses as well as the officer.

A Justice Department release said it "will continue to monitor the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigation into the death of Philando Castile, and will independently assess what further action may be warranted."

FBI Director James Comey said he was briefed on the shooting and that he "would expect we'll be involved."

After releasing his statement Thursday, Dayton emerged from the governor's residence outside which about 200 protesters had gathered Wednesday night and several dozen had spent the night.

"We're shocked and horrified by what occurred last night," he told the people who remained. "A horrible, horrible tragedy, a senseless tragedy."

On Thursday night, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the rain and again protested outside the governor's residence. The group swelled to more than 1,000 for a time as people marched from a school vigil.

Dayton moved through the crowd as protesters chanted: "What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now."

Dallas shootings

In Dallas, a statement from the city's Police Chief David Brown said, "it appears that two snipers shot 10 police officers from elevated positions during the protest/rally."

The statement said three officers were dead, two were in surgery and three were in critical condition.

An update just before midnight said 11 officers were shot and a fourth person had died. It was unclear if the fourth person who died was one of the two in surgery.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said early today that one civilian was also injured by the gunfire.

Brown told reporters that snipers fired "ambush style" upon the officers. Police later said in a statement that a suspect who had been in a shootout with Dallas SWAT officers was in custody, and a person of interest in the night's events had surrendered. Police said a suspicious package was being checked out by a bomb squad.

Just before 1 a.m. today, the police chief said three people were in custody and a fourth was exchanging gunfire with officers.

The gunfire started about 8:45 p.m. Thursday while hundreds of people were gathered to protest the shootings of Castile and Sterling.

The Dallas Morning News reported that the shots were fired near Market and Main streets, which is near the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza.

The search for the gunman stretched throughout downtown, an area of hotels, restaurants, businesses and some residential apartments. The scene was chaotic, with helicopters hovering overhead and officers with automatic rifles on street corners.

Carlos Harris, who lives downtown, told the Morning News that the shooters "were strategic. It was tap, tap, pause. Tap, tap, pause."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement saying he had directed the Texas Department of Public Safety director to offer "whatever assistance the City of Dallas needs at this time."

"In times like this we must remember -- and emphasize -- the importance of uniting as Americans," Abbott said.

Also Thursday night, there were protest rallies in the District of Columbia, where hundreds gathered outside the White House and then marched to the Capitol.

House members were inside voting when the protesters arrived. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., marched along with others back toward the White House. Capitol police were on hand on the steps of the Capitol, and protesters chanted "no justice, no peace, no racist police," and "Black lives matter."

In New York, hundreds of people marched Thursday through the streets of midtown Manhattan to protest the Minnesota and Louisiana shootings.

Michael Houston, a 20-year-old student, said anger and lack of action drew him to the protest.

"It's the definition of insanity," Houston said. "How can we expect anything to be different when nothing changes."

Lawrence Amsterdam, 35, another student, decried what he called police injustice.

"It's supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. But the way I see it, it's murder first and ask questions later," Amsterdam said.

In Poland, Obama stressed that speaking out about the issue is not an attack on police. "When people say 'black lives matter,' that doesn't mean blue lives don't matter," Obama said, referring to uniformed officers. "That just means all lives matter."

In 2014, Obama created a task force to develop modern policing guidelines, and he urged communities and law enforcement agencies to implement those recommendations drafted by the Justice Department.

Obama said early today that if anything good could come from recent fatal shootings, it would be that more parts of the country would adopt those recommendations.

"Change has been too slow," Obama said. "We have to have a greater sense of urgency about this."

Broken taillight

The two officers who stopped Castile were from the city of St. Anthony, which provides police services under contract to Falcon Heights.

During the traffic stop on Larpenteur Avenue on Wednesday, one officer -- whom Reynolds described as Asian-American -- approached Castile, who was driving, and said he had a broken taillight.

Reynolds said on the video that her boyfriend had a conceal-carry license that allowed him to legally carry a firearm and was reaching for his identification in his back pocket when the officer started to shoot.

"He let the officer know that he had a firearm, and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm," she said.

Castile moaned and appeared to lose consciousness as an officer shouted expletives in the background in apparent frustration.

"Ma'am, keep your hands where they are," the officer yelled at Reynolds. "I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hands up."

"You told him to get his ID, sir, his driver's license," Reynolds responded. "Oh my God. Please don't tell me he's dead. Please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that."

Reynolds told reporters Thursday morning that she and Castile had been on their way home. He had just gotten a haircut for his birthday, she said, and then they had gone grocery shopping.

Reynolds said the officer walked to the window and instructed them to put their hands in the air. He then asked to see Castile's license and registration, which, Reynolds said, Castile kept in a wallet in a back pocket of his pants.

"As he's reaching for his back pocket wallet, he lets the officer know: 'Officer, I have a firearm on me.' I begin to yell, 'But he's licensed to carry,'" Reynolds said. "After that, he [the officer] began to take off shots: ba, ba, ba, ba. 'Don't move, don't move!'

"But how can you not move when you're reaching for license and registration?" Reynolds said. "It's either you want my hands in the air or you want my identification."

Relatives were angry that Castile was not tended to after he was shot. Reynolds said it took about 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive.

The Facebook footage shows Castile lying motionless in the car for several minutes, his shirt covered in blood, while Reynolds speaks to the camera.

'Black' in wrong place

Speaking to CNN, Castile's mother said she suspected that she would never learn the whole truth about her son's death.

"I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile said Thursday, adding that she had stressed to her children that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive.

"I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply."

Reynolds said that in the moments after the shooting, she was trying to stay calm for her 4-year-old daughter, who was in the car when the officer opened fire. But it was her daughter, she said, who provided comfort to her.

"My daughter told me stay strong, and that's what I had to do. My daughter told me, 'don't cry,' and that's what I had to do. My daughter prayed for me," Reynolds told reporters Thursday, adding: "She knew that he was gone before I knew."

Castile had worked for the St. Paul School District since he was 19. A principal described him as "a warm person and a gentle spirit" who loved his job and never missed work.

Katherine Holmquist-Burks hired Castile three years ago to supervise the cafeteria at J.J. Hill Montessori, a St. Paul magnet school with 530 students and 85 staff members.

"He stood out because he was happy, friendly and related to people well," she said.

Minnesota court records online show that Castile had some misdemeanor violations, mainly related to driving.

Sgt. Jon Mangseth, the interim police chief for St. Anthony, said the shooting was the first he could remember in the department's history.

"We haven't had an officer-involved shooting in 30 years or more. I'd have to go back in the history books, to tell you the truth," he said during a news briefing at the crime scene. "It's shocking. It's not something that occurs in this area often."

Mangseth said details of the shooting were still unclear.

"As this unfolds we will release the information as we learn it, and we will address concerns as we are made aware of them," he said early Thursday, adding that he had yet to see the Facebook video, which he had only learned about from reporters. "As we learn more information, we will release that in a news release."

Mangseth said he believed the officer involved in the shooting had been on the police force "in excess of five years."

Information for this article was contributed by Michael E. Miller, Wesley Lowery, Lindsey Bever, Mark Berman, Juliet Eilperin, Susan Hogan, Elahe Izadi and Karoun Demirjian of The Washington Post; by Richard Perez-Pena, Jonah Engel Bromwich, Michael McPhate, Mitch Smith and Matt Furber of The New York Times; by Kyle Potter, Gretchen Ehlke, Carla K. Johnson, Sarah Rankin, Rhonda Shafner, Josh Lederman and Terry Wallace of The Associated Press; and by Pat Pheifer, Claude Peck, Libor Jany, Andy Mannix and Anthony Lonetree of the Star Tribune.

A Section on 07/08/2016