Minnesota officer will face charges in July shooting death of Philando Castile

(Reuters) - A prosecutor in Minnesota on Wednesday said he had brought a second-degree manslaughter charge against a police officer involved in the July shooting death of a black motorist that sparked outrage after it was broadcast on social media.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez broke the law when he shot and killed Philando Castile, 32, in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb, during a traffic stop.

Images of Philando Castile shot by police, live streamed to Facebook

Castile had told the officer that he was lawfully carrying a firearm after he was pulled over by Yanez and another officer.

Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, live-streamed images of him after he was shot, and some went viral on social media.

"I have given officer Yanez every benefit of the doubt on his use of deadly force," Choi said during a press conference on Wednesday.

"But I cannot allow the death of a motorist who was lawfully carrying a firearm under these facts and circumstances to go unaccounted for."

Related: Protests erupt around country after Alton Sterling, Philando Castile shootings

Yanez said he feared for his life at one point during the incident, according to Choi, who added that Castile's final words after being shot were, "I wasn't reaching for it."

Yanez has also been charged with two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm that endangered the safety of Reynolds and her four-year-old daughter, who was also in the car at the time.