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SPEAKER 1: A warning to listeners this episode contains moments of graphic violence, traumatic situations, and uncensored profanity. We know some people have not watched Diamond Reynolds' video from the night of the shooting. This contains intense moments of audio from that video.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

RIHAM FESHIR: On Saturday, July 2, 2016, the Super USA convenience store in Lauderdale, Minnesota, was open for business for the holiday weekend.

JON COLLINS: Lauderdale's a tiny suburb right between Minneapolis and Falcon Heights. It covers less than half a square mile. It's patrolled by the St. Anthony Police Department.

RIHAM FESHIR: The store is a squat brick building on Larpenteur Avenue with neon beer signs in the window. Inside is your standard convenience store spread-- donuts on the shelf, pizza slices under a heat lamp, lottery tickets under glass behind the counter.

JON COLLINS: At 7:30 that Saturday night, two men walked into the store. The police report describes the men as African American with dreadlocks, glasses, and baseball hats. One of the hats has marijuana leaves on it. They held the cashier at gunpoint. They took $700 in cash and Newport cigarettes and walked out.

RIHAM FESHIR: The police got there just three minutes later, but the men were gone. Two officers responded that night. One of them was Jeronimo Yanez.

JON COLLINS: Four days later, when Yanez was patrolling that same stretch of Larpenteur Avenue, the robbery was still on his mind.

RIHAM FESHIR: I'm Riham Feshir.

JON COLLINS: I'm Jon Collins.

RIHAM FESHIR: And this is 74 Seconds.

We're reporters with Minnesota Public Radio. In this podcast, we're telling the story of a traffic stop that ended with Philando Castile dead an Officer Jeronimo Yanez facing charges. We'll be following this all the way through the upcoming trial. For the full story, start with episode one.

JON COLLINS: In this episode, we're going to walk you through the night it happened. The entire encounter, from flashing lights to firing shots, took just 74 seconds.

RIHAM FESHIR: And that armed robbery we just told you about for $700 in cash and cigarettes, that's what set this all in motion.

JON COLLINS: On July 6, 2016, Officer Yanez was working the night shift. He started at 6:00 PM. We checked his work logs. Things started out pretty typical he pulled over two drivers, wrote two speeding tickets, both on Larpenteur Avenue. Then, a white Oldsmobile caught his attention. It was 9:00 PM and still light out. A long summer day. In the front seat, he could make out two people.

JERONIMO YANEZ: 21 to 20, what's your location?

RIHAM FESHIR: That's Yanez, calling over the radio to his partner, Joseph Cowser, who was in another car.

JERONIMO YANEZ: I'm going to stop the car. 203, Tom Tom Mary. They have reason to pull in over. The two occupants just look like people that were involved in a robbery.

RIHAM FESHIR: The driver and the passenger in the Oldsmobile just looked like people that were involved in armed robbery, he says. At some point during this exchange, Yanez runs the car's license plate but comes up with nothing. It's not stolen. There are no warrants out for the registered owner, Philando Castile. But Yanez keeps following.

JON COLLINS: After the break, Officer Yanez makes the stop.

SPEAKER 1: If you're looking for more great stories and investigative journalism, there's another podcast you have to check out. Reveal, from the Center for Investigative Reporting, NPRX. Each week, Reveal takes you into a hidden world or exposes a problem that most people know nothing about.

SPEAKER 2: Recently, APM Reports and Reveal teamed up for a look at police training. Specifically, deescalation, which we talked about last episode with Kurtis Gilbert. Check out all of Reveal's investigations, including that one on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or anywhere you download podcasts.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

RIHAM FESHIR: And we're back. Officer Jeronimo Yanez continues to follow the white Oldsmobile east on Larpenteur Avenue. He gets on the radio again to his partner.

JERONIMO YANEZ: The driver looks more like one of our suspects. Just because of a wide set nose. I couldn't get a good look at the passenger.

RIHAM FESHIR: His nose, Yanez says, reminds him of the robbery suspects.

JERONIMO YANEZ: I'll wait for you.

RIHAM FESHIR: He tells Cowser he'll wait for him before he makes the stop. And he continues to follow.

JOSEPH COWSER: Tell me where are you at.

JERONIMO YANEZ: Larp, Cleveland. Still eastbound.

JOSEPH COWSER: Copy.

JON COLLINS: Philando Castile and Diamond Reynolds in the front seat of that white Oldsmobile don't know what's happening yet. They've got groceries and Diamond's four-year-old daughter in the back. They've got the windows down in the summer heat. They keep traveling down Larpenteur. It's a busy four-lane county road. It slices across a string of suburbs, past fields and strip malls, and apartment buildings.

RIHAM FESHIR: As the two cars near the corner of Larpenteur and Fry, Yanez turns on his flashing lights. Everything that happens next was captured by Yanez's dash cam and a microphone he was wearing. But we can't play that for you. We've never heard or seen the tape. Because it's an ongoing case, we likely won't hear it until the trial.

Someone who does have access to it is prosecutor Jon Choi. Going off that tape, Choi narrated the events of the night at a press conference months later, when he explained why he was pressing charges against Yanez.

JOHN CHOI: The dash cam video reveals the sequence of events that transpired during this critical minute.

JON COLLINS: So what we know about these next 74 seconds largely comes from Choi and from Diamond Reynolds, who watched it all happen from the passenger seat. She told her story on Facebook Live that night and again the next morning at a protest.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: We were coming from the grocery store from putting food in my house for myself and my daughter.

JON COLLINS: Diamond and Choi's accounts are almost perfectly in sync.

RIHAM FESHIR: So here's the stop by the second.

JON COLLINS: Yanez turns on his squad car lights at 9:04 PM.

RIHAM FESHIR: The 74 seconds start ticking.

JON COLLINS: It takes Philando Castile 12 seconds to pull to the side of the road.

RIHAM FESHIR: 62 seconds to go.

JON COLLINS: Philando comes to a complete stop at the corner of Larpenteur and Fry, right in front of a sign for the Minnesota State Fair. He puts his car into park.

RIHAM FESHIR: Yanez stops, too. He gets out of his squad car.

JON COLLINS: Cowser arrives and gets out of his.

RIHAM FESHIR: 47 seconds to go.

JON COLLINS: Yanez takes lead, Cowser hangs back.

JOHN CHOI: Officer Yanez approached Castile's vehicle on the driver's side.

RIHAM FESHIR: That's Jon Choi describing what happened.

JON COLLINS: Yanez could see both of Philando's hands as he approached.

RIHAM FESHIR: He could smell weed, he said later.

JOHN CHOI: Office Yanez described Castile as initially having his left arm over the steering wheel with both hands in view.

JON COLLINS: Yanez puts his hand on his belt near his gun.

RIHAM FESHIR: 40 seconds to go.

JOHN CHOI: Officer Yanez positioned himself facing the driver's side of the window. Leaned his head forward. Exchanged greetings with Castile and informed him of his brake light problem.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: We got pulled over what allegedly was supposed to be a broken tail light. When he let us know that we had a broken tail light, he asked us, were we aware of it? We said no.

RIHAM FESHIR: As Yanez is talking to Philado, Cowser approaches the other side of the Oldsmobile, stopping near the back passenger door. 29 seconds to go.

JOHN CHOI: Officer Yanez asked Castile to produce his driver's license and proof of insurance.

RIHAM FESHIR: 24 seconds.

JOHN CHOI: Castile first provided him with his insurance card.

RIHAM FESHIR: 14 seconds.

JON COLLINS: Yanez looks at the insurance card. He puts it in his pocket. He still needs to see ID.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: My boyfriend carries all his information in a thick wallet in his right side back pocket.

RIHAM FESHIR: 10 seconds.

JOHN CHOI: Castile then calmly and in a non-threatening manner informed Officer Yanez, sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: As he's reaching for his back pocket wallet, he lets the officer know, officer, I have a firearm on me.

RIHAM FESHIR: Seven seconds.

JOHN CHOI: Before Castile completed the sentence, Officer Yanez interrupted and calmly replied, OK. And placed his right hand on the holster of his own holstered gun. Officer Yanez then said, OK, don't reach for it, then. Castile tried to respond but was interrupted by Officer Yanez who said, don't pull it out. Castile responded, I'm not pulling it out. And Reynolds also responded by saying, he's not pulling it out.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: I began to yell, but he's licensed to carry.

JOHN CHOI: Then Officer Yanez screamed, don't pull it out. And quickly pulled his own gun with his right hand while he reached inside the driver's side window with his left hand. Officer Yanez pulled his left arm out of the car and then fired seven shots in rapid succession into the vehicle.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: After that, he began to take off shot. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Don't move, don't move.

RIHAM FESHIR: And it's over.

JOHN CHOI: The seventh and final shot was fired at 9:06 and two seconds PM.

JON COLLINS: From flashing lights to the final shots, it all took 74 seconds.

RIHAM FESHIR: Yanez's partner, Joseph Cowser, who was standing at the back of the car, never drew his gun. He never even touched it.

JOHN CHOI: After the final shot, Reynolds frantically yelled, you just killed my boyfriend. Philando Castile moaned and uttered his final words, I wasn't reaching for it.

JON COLLINS: That's all we know about those critical moments. And we know that Philando had nothing to do with the robbery at the convenience store. What the jury will have to consider, though, is what Yanez thought. And that is the big question.

RIHAM FESHIR: Philando Castile said he wasn't reaching for his gun. Diamond Reynolds said he wasn't reaching for his gun. But minutes after the shooting, Yanez said that he thought he was.

JOSEPH COWSER: 21. Near toll three. Shots fired.

OPERATOR: Copy, shots fired, Larpenteur and Fry. Do you need medics?

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: Stay with me. We got pulled over for a busted tail light in the back.

JON COLLINS: Less than a minute after the final shot, Diamond Reynolds turned on Facebook Live.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: He killed my boyfriend. He's licensed. He's carrying--

JON COLLINS: This is the video that you've probably seen. It went everywhere.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: --in his wallet out his pocket. And he let the officer know--

JON COLLINS: In it, she's got the phone pointed at her face. She could see herself on the screen. When she turns the camera, you can see Philando. Blood is spreading across his white t-shirt. His seatbelt is still buckled. You get a glimpse of Officer Yanez at the driver's side window. You can't see his face, but you can see his gun. He still has it pointed at them. Even as Philando slumps in his seat and groans.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: We're waiting for a-- I will, sir. No worries. I will.

JERONIMO YANEZ: Fuck! Told him not to reach for it. I told him get his hand out.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: You told him to get his ID, sir. His driver's license. Oh my god, please don't tell me he's dead.

JERONIMO YANEZ: Fuck.

RIHAM FESHIR: You can't ignore how calm Diamond is in this. She's even polite. Yanez is yelling and swearing. Diamond is calling him sir.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: Please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that.

JERONIMO YANEZ: Keep your hands where they are, please.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: Yes, I will, sir. I'll keep my hands where they are.

JON COLLINS: Now remember, there's a third person in the car for all this. Someone who saw everything. Someone who was watching from the back, still buckled into her car seat. Diamond's four-year-old daughter.

RIHAM FESHIR: After the shooting, Officer Cowser opens the door and unbuckles her. There's a bullet lodged in the back seat on the other side from where the child was sitting.

JOSEPH COWSER: Driver. At gunpoint. Juvenile female. Child. Is with 6920.

Couple other squads, block off the intersections. Get some supervisors here. Keep them out.

OPERATOR: Copy. One adult female in custody. Driver's at gunpoint. Juvenile female's with 6920. With another couple other squads to block off the intersection. We need supervisors around scene there.

JON COLLINS: Officers from the nearby suburb of Roseville start to arrive. All they know is that an officer has been involved in a shooting. What they see when they get there is Yanez still pointing his gun at Philando and Diamond in the car.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Time, 21:07. Engine 23 and Medic 23. Larpenteur Avenue, West and Fry Street. Police on scene. Shooting. Standby for police.

JON COLLINS: They start to take control of the scene.

RIHAM FESHIR: Philando, still bleeding in the front seat.

JON COLLINS: They ordered Diamond out of the car. You can hear this on her Facebook Live video.

OFFICER 1: Get the female passenger out.

OFFICER 2: Ma'am, exit the car right now with your hands up. Let me see your hands. Exit now. Keep them up. Keep them up.

JON COLLINS: One of the officers has an AR-15 rifle pointed at her. The cops order her to walk backwards towards them.

OFFICER 2: Keep walking.

JON COLLINS: She has her hands raised over her head. But she's still holding her phone.

OFFICER 2: Get on your knees. Get on your knees.

JON COLLINS: They order Diamond to her knees.

RIHAM FESHIR: The phone drops. You just see sky and power lines.

JON COLLINS: They handcuff her. You can hear the click.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: Why am I being arrested?

OFFICER 2: Ma'am, you're just being detained right now until we get this all sorted out, OK?

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: Wow. They threw my phone, Facebook. Please go tell the Lord Jesus. Please don't tell me--

JON COLLINS: Once diamond is out of the car, Roseville officers open the Oldsmobile's driver's side door and unbuckle Philando. They pull him out of the car and lay him on the ground.

RIHAM FESHIR: Now there's a second video of what happened that night. Catherine Bleth shot it as she stood across the street. She filmed the officers performing CPR. She shared this video with us, and we talked to her about that night. She lives in an apartment complex right at that intersection. She was just getting home when she saw all the lights.

CATHERINE BLETH: My neighbors were saying that they thought it was fireworks. I do remember thinking, this person is not going to make it if they're having to administer CPR to the front.

JON COLLINS: Paramedics arrive at this point. They take over from the officers. As they roll Philando Castile onto a backboard, Roseville police saw his handgun begin to slide out of the right pocket of his shorts.

RIHAM FESHIR: Yanez is still there through all of this. He's talking with other officers. And what he says was captured on his microphone. We've seen bits of the transcript. He didn't tell me where the fucking gun was, he says. I was getting fucking nervous, he says.

RIHAM FESHIR: In all the chaos, with the flashing lights of more police cars and an ambulance, what Catherine Bleth remembers in all this was Diamond. She could hear her from across the street.

CATHERINE BLETH: And I think the most notable thing that I remember happening that was probably the hardest to witness actually was that you could hear the woman, you could hear her crying from the police car and that they were accused. The brought her in and I saw them close it in on her.

RIHAM FESHIR: The Roseville police have diamond in the back of a police car at this point. Someone has given her her phone back and it's still streaming. But the battery is dying, she says. She asks for help from anyone who's listening. Her daughter is in the back of the squad car with her through this. She's only four and she tries to comfort her mother.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: I can't really do shit, because they got me handcuffed.

DAUGHTER: It's OK, Mommy.

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: I can't believe they just did this. I'm fucking-- fucking fuck! Fuck!

DAUGHTER: It's OK. I'm right here with you.

[SOBS]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

JON COLLINS: It's getting dark now. The street is filled with flashing lights.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

RIHAM FESHIR: An ambulance pulls away with Philando Castile.

JON COLLINS: Officers take Diamond Reynolds and her daughter to the Roseville Police Station.

RIHAM FESHIR: Yanez gets a ride back to St. Anthony. By early morning, he's home.

JON COLLINS: Meanwhile, Diamond Reynolds' Facebook Live video is ricocheting around the internet. It's being shared across the country by horrified viewers. In the Twin Cities, it's stirring people from their homes. 10:00, 11:00, midnight, 1:00 AM. People keep showing up on Larpenteur Avenue to see for themselves and to yell at police.

MAN 1: You should be ashamed of yourselves.

MAN 2: --really ashamed of yourselves.

MAN 3: You have no heart, standing up for a murderer.

RIHAM FESHIR: It's late, but dozens gather. They're still there in the middle of the night when Philando Castile's white Oldsmobile is towed away. They're still there as his blood is washed off the pavement.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

JON COLLINS: Next time on 74 Seconds.

WOMAN: A couple people come up to me and they're like, do you think we should go to the governor's mansion? And I'm like, yes.

JON COLLINS: How the shooting shook the Twin Cities and the country.

RIHAM FESHIR: You can keep up with the trial and everything related to the case by following us on Twitter, @74SecondsMPR. If you haven't already, subscribe on iTunes. And if you can, give us a rating. It really helps people find the show.

JON COLLINS: 74 Seconds is hosted and reported by me, Jon Collins.

RIHAM FESHIR: And me, Riham Feshir. It's produced by Tracey Mumford and Hans Buetow. It's edited by Paul Tosto, Meg Martin, and Mike Edgerly. Production assistance by Manda Lilly. This episode was engineered by Corey Schreppel. We had additional reporting from Solvejg Wastvedt and the staff of MPR News.

JON COLLINS: Our theme music is by Geoffrey Wilson. Special thanks to Samara Freemark, Madeline Baron, Curtis Gilbert, Molly Bloom, and Jonathan Blakely. 74 Seconds is a production of MPR News and American Public Media.