Mourners pay respects to black Minnesota man shot by officer

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Faith leaders and musicians delivered messages of hope Thursday at a funeral for a black Minnesota man who was fatally shot by a suburban St. Paul police officer.

Mourners filled the 3,000-seat Cathedral of St. Paul to pay their respects to 32-year-old Philando Castile, whose white casket arrived and left on a horse-drawn carriage. After the ecumenical service ended, people lined up on either side of the cathedral’s long stairs holding “Unite for Philando” signs as pallbearers dressed in white raised clenched fists while carrying out Castile’s casket.

Castile was shot several times during a July 6 traffic stop in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights. Castile’s girlfriend streamed the aftermath live on Facebook.

The Rev. John Ubel, rector of the Catholic cathedral that overlooks downtown St. Paul, said the day will prove to have been a good one if it brings people of different backgrounds together and gives them a “tiny measure of peace.”

In his eulogy, the Rev. Steve Daniels Jr. of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church questioned why racial profiling still occurs in the U.S. He said he grew up in Mississippi in the 1950s and ’60s and understands the frustrations expressed by today’s protesters in response to police shootings of black people.

They want to feel respected, valued and are tired of being “wrongfully murdered,” Daniels said.

He said he’s thankful for police and their service, but that people need to find a way to work together.

Gov. Mark Dayton, who has suggested that race played a role in Castile’s death, attended, as did U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison.