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Posted: 2017-07-28T21:05:17Z | Updated: 2017-07-28T21:05:17Z

A Minnesota peace officer training board has voted down a proposal to name a $12 million police training fund after Philando Castile , a black man killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in 2016.

The Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training voted Thursday morning to retain the original name of the fund, the Peace Officer Training Assistance Fund. The fund, approved by the state legislature earlier this year, aims to improve community-police relations by emphasizing de-escalation, addressing implicit bias and promoting diversity.

The board made the decision by a vote of 8-2, with one abstention.

Castiles uncle, Clarence Castile, whom Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) appointed to the POST board, voted to name the fund after his nephew. Prior to the vote, he compared the possibility to an olive branch thats been extended by law enforcement and government saying we want to try to start to rebuild.

Of course you wouldnt want to name it after Philando because, every time you get out of your car, Philando Castiles name is going to play in your head, Castiles friend John Thompson told the board .

Dayton proposed in early July to name the fund in Castiles honor a suggestion Castiles family supported but that law enforcement groups opposed, arguing that it was a tone-deaf insult to the states police officers. Dayton has stated that he stands by his recommendation after the POST vote.

Lt. Bob Kroll, who is president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis and who testified before the board, suggested that the governors call to name the fund after Castile may have been a political move.

We looked at it as irresponsible statements by Governor Dayton. The shooting happened and he came out and condemned the officer immediately. And thats in the interest of politics and gaining votes, Kroll told HuffPost. It had nothing to do with the reality of the situation. Officer [Jeronimo] Yanez was tried and found not guilty by a jury. So the justice system was followed. And this is just the governor trying to garner votes for the Democratic party.

Former St. Anthony police officer Yanez pulled Castile over for a broken taillight and shot him while Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her four-year-old daughter were in the car. Yanez testified that he thought Castile was drawing a gun and that he feared for his life, while Reynolds argued that Castile posed no threat. Yanez was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter in June.

Kroll opposed the move to name the fund in Castiles honor, noting the number of fallen police officers whom the fund could have honored.

My position was weve had 243 officers in the state of Minnesota that have been killed in the line of duty, and weve never named a bill after them, Kroll told HuffPost. Why would we name it after a person that, in the end, was shot by police and the shooting was ruled to be justifiable?

Castiles family expressed disappointment in the decision.

Its just a pitiful shame that they voted against it when the governor recommended it, Castiles mother, Valerie Castile, told the Pioneer Press after the vote.

In explaining the POST boards decision, both Kroll and Nate Gove, the boards executive director (who was not one of the voting members), emphasized that the board has never voted to name such a fund after an individual person.

Although Castiles mother told the Pioneer Press that the decision was absolutely a step back for community-police relations, Gove expressed optimism about the effects of the new training fund.

My hope moving forward is that for those whose trust has been strained, law enforcement and the public can come together. I believe this additional funding and new mandatory training is a step in that direction.

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