Mother of slain black driver get $3M deal with US city

By Safvan Allahverdi

WASHINGTON (AA) - The mother of Philando Castile, a black motorist killed by a police officer, has reached a nearly a $3 million agreement with city of St. Anthony, Minnesota, on Monday, according to a statment.

The agreement was signed 10 days after Jeronimo Yanez, who is Latino, was acquitted of all charges in the case, including second-degree manslaughter.

“No amount of money can ever replace Philando,” said Castille family lawyer Robert Bennett. “The settlement should provide some measure of comfort to those angered by his death.”

The $2.9 million agreement that needs approval from a state court, will be paid by a company that holds the insurance policy for the city of St. Anthony, according to a joint statement by the Castile family and the city.

Yanez said during the trial he believed Castile, 32, was reaching for a gun when he fatally shot him last July. Just prior to the shooting, Castile told Yanez he had a firearm, which he had a permit to carry.

The shooting gained international attention when its aftermath was live-streamed on Facebook by Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Rey­nolds, who along with her 4-year-old daughter, was in the car at the time.

The shooting sparked nationwide protest that sometimes turned violent as the numbers grew of cases of black men shot and killed by mostly white police officers.

Castile was killed one day after another black male, Alton Sterling, was shot and killed at close range by police in Louisiana. That killing was also caught on video.

The settlement Monday was reached just days after a reported $1.5 million settlement was reached between the city of Ferguson, Missouri, and the family of Michael Brown, who was killed by police.

A St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict officer Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting in 2014 of the unarmed teen. Wilson was exonerated of criminal wrongdoing by the U.S. Department of Justice.