The Minnesota Board of Education was justified in denying a substitute teaching license to a former police officer who shot and killed a Black man during a traffic stop in 2016, an appeals court ruled Monday.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the findings of the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing Standards Board, which concluded that Jeronimo Yanez did not meet the moral standards necessary to teach in public schools.
The court had referred the case back to the licensing board in 2022 to reconsider its initial denial of Yanez’s teaching license application based on “immoral character or conduct.” The court said the reasons were unconstitutionally vague and ordered the board to focus on whether Yanez’s conduct made him unfit to teach.
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The board then proceeded further and rejected his application for the second time.
Yanez, a former St. Anthony police officer, shot and killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop after he volunteered that he had a gun. Authorities later discovered that Castile, 32, a cafeteria worker at St. Paul Elementary School, had a firearms permit. The incident gained widespread attention after Castile’s girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car with her young daughter, began livestreaming the aftermath of the shooting on Facebook.
Yanez was acquitted of manslaughter. Castile’s death preceded the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer in 2020, which began a racial reckoning across the country. It also sparked massive public outcry and protests in Minnesota and beyond. Yanez left law enforcement after the trial and eventually began teaching Spanish part-time at a parochial school.
Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez waits for a ride outside the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Minn., May 30, 2017 in St. Paul, Minn. The Minnesota Board of Education was justified in denying Mr. Yanez a substitute teaching license. The Court of Appeals ruled on Monday, March 11, 2024, for the former police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile in 2016. (David Joles/Star Tribune, via AP, File)
In reviewing Mr. Yanez’s license application, the commission concluded that Mr. Yanez racially profiled Castile when he stopped his car, thinking he might be a robbery suspect, and fired seven shots into the car. Yanez’s decision not only killed Castile, but also put his girlfriend and her life at risk. daughter.
The commission found these actions to be in violation of the provisions of the Minnesota Teachers’ Ethics Code regarding non-discrimination, the exercise of disciplinary authority, and protecting students from harm.
The appeals court said Monday that the board followed proper legal standards this time and made its decision based on extensive evidence. Among the experts who testified was St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Joseph Gothard, who said Yanez’s biases and microaggressions against Castile were biases and microaggressions that were harmful to students, especially students of color. He claimed that it shows.
“Dr. Gothard questions Yanez’s ability to meet the ethical demands of a diverse student population and believes that Yanez’s presence as a teacher in Minnesota classrooms risks re-traumatizing students, staff, and families. ”, the appeals court noted.
Mr. Yanez’s attorney, Robert Fowler, said the board lacks the expertise in police matters to reach a conclusion about whether Mr. Yanez should be allowed to teach.
“The licensing board cherry-picked its findings to reach a biased conclusion,” Fowler said in an email. “Unfortunately, the court was not willing to address these difficult political questions and instead simply rubber-stamped the decisions of the authorities. This entire case has been made in a way that the issues surrounding police were decided in a fair and impartial manner. It’s further proof that it can’t be done.”
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The attorney said Yanez continues to teach at the parochial school.
