Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of the late Philando Castile, settled a lawsuit she filed against a former sheriff’s deputy in 2017.
The lawsuit was settled and Reynolds received an apology from Tom McBroom, her lawyer said on Thursday, according to The Star Tribune. In 2017, Reynolds received an $800,000 settlement from the cities of St. Anthony and Roseville long with the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust for Castile’s death. She was in the passenger seat when St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez shot and killed Castille in 2016. In a separate suit, Castile’s family also settled a suit with the city of St. Anthony for $2.995 million.
Reynolds live-streamed the moments after Castile’s death as her 4-year-old daughter, who witnessed the shooting, sat in the back seat. Yanez was charged with manslaughter and acquitted.
McBroom was working as a Rice County Sheriff’s Office sergeant in November 2017 when he tweeted Reynolds would waste the money on drugs.
“She needs to come off County and State Aid now that she has some cash. It’ll be gone in 6 months on crack cocaine,” he wrote. McBroom, who now serves as mayor of Elysian, Minnesota, was demoted from sergeant to deputy in February 2018 due to “misconduct.”
Reynolds filed a $50,000 defamation suit against McBroom in 2019. In the court documents, she denied using the cocaine and asserted McBroom’s commentary caused emotional distress. She also argued the comments were racially motivated. The details of the latest settlement have not been released, but McBroom publicly apologized to Reynolds.
“I want to apologize to you for my remarks I made when you were awarded money for the loss of … Mr. Castile. From everything I have read since, he was a good person and well liked within his community and school. You lost a loved one and your daughter witnessed a violent act that no young child should ever have to witness,” McBroom said.
“My comments were hurtful towards someone I did not know and should never have been written,” the apology continued. “I hope one day you will forgive me for those ignorant words. I am not the person who has hate for anyone. I hope, pray, and wish nothing but the best for you and your daughter moving forward.”
