Listen: Why police trials are so rare

The trial of St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez continues Wednesday in St. Paul. Yanez has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm for killing Philando Castile during a traffic stop in July 2016.

Trials like this are rare in the U.S.

Since 2005, only 81 officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter for people they have killed while on-duty, according to data collected by Bowling Green State University criminologist Philip Stinson. But the number has been increasing in recent years.

MPR News host Tom Weber spoke to Stinson about how the Yanez trial fits into the national story around police shootings and prosecutions.

To hear the full conversation use the audio player above.

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