Over 1500 Gather For Philando Castile Funeral
St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - Over 1,500 people, including Governor Mark Dayton, gathered inside the Cathedral of St. Paul today for the funeral of Philando Castile.
The memorial service and celebration of the 32-year-old St. Paul man’s life was preceded by a three mile long funeral procession led by a horse drawn carriage through St. Paul’s historic Rondo neighborhood. At the end of the service, as the casket containing Castile’s body was carried back to the carriage, a crowd of people gathered on the steps of the Cathedral raising their fists into the air and chanting “Unite for Philando.”
Castile was shot and killed last week by a police officer during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights in an incident that inspired protests throughout the country. Last weekend, a demonstration on I-94 in St. Paul that led to the arrests of 50 people after protesters threw rocks, bottles and fireworks at police officers.