St. Paul suburb addressing police training, diversity

MINNEAPOLIS — The St. Paul suburb of St. Anthony is addressing concerns about the training and diversity of its police force, weeks after one of its officers fatally shot a black motorist.

Questions about officer training surfaced after the July 6 shooting of Philando Castile, 32, who was killed during a traffic stop. Castile’s girlfriend recorded the immediate aftermath of the shooting live on Facebook and said Castile was shot while reaching for his ID after telling St. Anthony officer Jeronimo Yanez he had a gun permit and was armed.

Yanez’s attorney has said the officer was reacting to the presence of a gun and that one reason Yanez stopped the vehicle is because he thought Castile looked like a “possible match” for an armed robbery suspect.

St. Anthony’s statement, posted on its website this week, doesn’t specifically mention Castile, but acknowledges that recent events have raised questions about the preparedness of its officers. Police Chief Jon Mangseth said in a response to emailed questions Friday that the statement directly addresses some of those questions.

“We share the sadness, grief and shock over what has happened,” the city’s statement said. “We also share the commitment to be part of the conversation … to better understand what happened, what we can learn from this and how we all move forward.”

According to the city’s statement, St. Anthony’s 23 officers average nearly 80 hours of training each year, well above what the state requires. Mangseth said programs include active shooter training, de-escalation techniques and cultural outreach and mental health training.