Demonstrators packed the Ramsey County attorney's office lobby in St. Paul on Monday, armed with a petition asking a special prosecutor to completely take over the review of the police-involved shooting death of Philando Castile.
The activists, including Castile's uncle, Clarence Castile, asked to meet with Ramsey County Attorney John Choi for a few minutes or, at the very least, to directly hand him the petition signed by more than 7,000 people.
But after about 45 minutes during which his spokesman, Dennis Gerhardstein, failed to placate the group, Choi was a no-show. He eventually sent Assistant County Attorney Rick Dusterhoft, the head of the criminal division, in his place.
Dusterhoft told the approximately two dozen demonstrators that Choi was busy. "He sent me down to receive this from you, and I will make sure he sees it," Dusterhoft said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota (ACLU), the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP and Neighborhoods Organizing for Change organized Monday's protest as part of an effort to change the long-held practice of county attorneys reviewing evidence in officer-involved shootings.
They and attorney Glenda Hatchett, who represents Castile's mother, had previously asked Choi to turn over the case to a special prosecutor.
Choi tried to compromise by announcing last Friday that he was adding private attorney Don Lewis as a special prosecutor to help the county attorney's office review the case, which remains under investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).
The move was criticized by the NAACP and the ACLU of Minnesota, while Hatchett called it a good "middle ground."