Philando Castile reportedly knew each name of the 500 students he served, and their allergies

As a community still mourns the loss of Philando Castile, we are able to get more information about his character. Unlike some of the victims of police brutality, the media hasn’t yet been able to paint a picture of a thug or a criminal. In fact, the community has already described a stand-up man.

“He remembered their names. He remembered who couldn’t have milk. He knew what they could have to eat and what they couldn’t,” Joan Edman, a recently retired paraprofessional at the school where Castile worked, told TIME. “This was a real guy. He made a real contribution. Yes, black lives matter. But this man mattered.”

The family and staff at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School have been devastated. Not just the black students and their families but the entire collective.