Tag Archives: Justine Damond

Warrant in Minnesota police shooting says woman slapped squad car

FILE PHOTO: Justine Damond, also known as Justine Ruszczyk, from Sydney, is seen in this 2015 photo released by Stephen Govel Photography in New York, U.S., on July 17, 2017. Stephen Govel/Stephen Govel Photography/Handout via REUTERS

By Chris Kenning

(Reuters) – A woman slapped the back of police squad car just before the fatal police shooting of an unarmed Australian woman in Minneapolis, according to newly released court documents.

The detail came in an application for a search warrant, made public Monday in court documents, from state investigators examining what led to the July 15 shooting of Sydney native Justine Damond, 40.

The fatal incident outraged the public in Australia and Minnesota, and led to the resignation of Minneapolis’ police chief. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the shooting “shocking” and “inexplicable.”

“Upon police arrival, a female ‘slaps’ the back of the patrol squad. After that, it is unknown to BCA agents what exactly happened, but the female became deceased in the alley,” the court document reads. It does not say whether the woman who slapped the car was Damond.

Damond family attorney Robert Bennett could not be reached to comment on Tuesday. Previously, Bennett had said: “Usually people who call the police in their pajamas are not ambushers.”

One responding officer, Matthew Harrity, told investigators he was startled by a loud sound near the patrol car shortly before his partner, Mohamed Noor, fired through the open driver’s-side window, striking Damond.

Damond, who had made Minneapolis her home and was engaged to be married, had called police about a possible sexual assault in her neighborhood just before midnight. A cellphone was found near her body, according to the court documents.

Last week, Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau resigned at the request of Mayor Betsy Hodges, who lost confidence in the chief after the shooting.

Over the weekend, metal street signs mocking the police appeared in the city, reading “Warning: Twin Cities Police Easily Startled,” according to KARE-TV.

Noor’s lawyer, Tom Plunkett, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Noor has refused to be interviewed by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the shooting. Plunkett previously released a statement in which Noor expressed condolences to the Damond family, but declined to discuss the shooting.

Harrity’s attorney, Fred Bruno, could not be reached for comment. Bruno previously told the Star Tribune it was “certainly reasonable” for the officers to fear they could be the target of a possible ambush.

Police also on Monday released the officers’ partly redacted personnel files, which include records of employment and completed training, including weapons training. However, the files reveal little about job performance.

(Reporting by Chris Kenning; Editing by David Gregorio)

Minneapolis police chief resigns after Australian woman’s shooting

FILE PHOTO: Minneapolis Chief of Police Janee Harteau takes part in a round table discussion on ways to reduce gun violence during a visit to the Minneapolis Police Department Special Operations Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. on February 4, 2013. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

By Eric M. Johnson

(Reuters) – Minneapolis police chief Janee Harteau resigned on Friday at the request of the city’s mayor, who said that she and the community had lost confidence in Harteau following the fatal police shooting of an unarmed Australian woman.

The death of Sydney native Justine Damond, 40, from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen fired through the open window of a police patrol car, has outraged her family members and the Australian public. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called it “shocking” and “inexplicable.”

Mayor Betsy Hodges said in a written statement that she and Harteau agreed on Friday that Harteau would step aside.

“I’ve lost confidence in the Chief’s ability to lead us further – and from the many conservations I’ve had with people around our city, especially this week, it is clear that she has lost the confidence of the people of Minneapolis as well,” Hodges said in the statement.

A press conference Hodges called to discuss the personnel change was interrupted by a group of protesters calling for her to resign, a witness video posted on YouTube showed.

“We don’t want you as our mayor of Minneapolis anymore,” a male protester in the video yelled as Hodges nodded slowly and tried repeatedly to resume her remarks but was drowned out.

“Your leadership has been very ineffective. Your police department has terrorized us enough,” he said.

Damond, who was living in Minneapolis and engaged to be married, had called police about a possible sexual assault in her neighborhood just before midnight on Saturday. She was shot as she approached the driver’s side of Mohamed Noor’s and Matthew Harrity’s patrol car.

Harteau’s resignation came a day after she told reporters during her first news conference following Damond’s death that the shooting violated department training and procedures and that the victim “didn’t have to die.”

“Last Saturday’s tragedy, as well as some other recent incidents, have caused me to engage in deep reflection,” she said in a statement. “Despite the MPD’s many accomplishments under my leadership over these years and my love for the city, I have to put the communities we serve first.”

According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Harrity told investigators that Damond approached the squad car immediately after he was startled by a loud noise and that Noor, who was in the passenger seat, fired his weapon through the open driver’s-side window, striking Damond.

Noor has refused to be interviewed by the agency, which is conducting the investigation.

The police department said on Friday that bureau investigators had interviewed a person who was bicycling in the area immediately before the shooting and watched as the officers provided medical assistance to Damond. No further details were provided.

Hodges said Assistant Chief Medaria Arradondo would become police chief, and the department’s website on Friday evening had been updated to reflect it.

Harteau, a 30-year veteran of the department, was the first woman to lead it and is also openly gay. She was criticized for the department’s handling of the fatal 2015 shooting of 24-year-old black man Jamar Clark, who was unarmed.

The shooting of Clark touched off protests in Minneapolis at a time of fierce national debate over the use of excessive force by police, especially against black people.

Hundreds of people also took to the streets of Minneapolis to protest Damond’s shooting.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler & Shri Navaratnam)

Australian woman ‘didn’t have to die’: Minneapolis police chief

Justine Damond, also known as Justine Ruszczyk, from Sydney, is seen in this 2015 photo released by Stephen Govel Photography in New York, U.S., on July 17, 2017. Stephen Govel/Stephen Govel Photography/Handout via REUTERS

By Todd Melby

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – The Minneapolis police chief said on Thursday the fatal shooting of an unarmed Australian woman by a junior police officer violated department training and procedures, and that the victim “didn’t have to die.”

The death of Justine Damond, 40, from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen fired through an open window of a police patrol car, has outraged her relatives and the public in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called it “shocking” and “inexplicable.”

“Justine didn’t have to die,” Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau said in her first news conference about the shooting.

Harteau said she apologized to Damond’s fiance for the loss of life, adding that the action taken by Officer Mohamed Noor, who fired the fatal shot, reflected “one individual’s actions.”

She said the body cameras of the two officers on the scene should have been activated. There is no known video footage of the shooting.

Based on the available information, Harteau said: “The actions in question go against who we are as a department, how we train, and the expectations we have for our officers.”

Damond had called police about a possible sexual assault in her neighborhood just before midnight on Saturday.

Earlier on Thursday, an attorney who represented another police shooting victim in Minnesota said Damond’s family had hired him.

The lawyer, Bob Bennett, reached a nearly $3 million settlement in June for the family of black motorist Philando Castile from the St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb of St. Anthony. Castile was shot and killed in July 2016 during a traffic stop.

The officer who shot Castile was acquitted in a manslaughter trial in June.

“Usually people who call the police in their pajamas are not ambushers, especially spiritual healers and pacifists,” Bennett said of Damond, who owned a meditation and life-coaching company.

“You shouldn’t shoot unarmed people who call the cops,” Bennett said in a telephone interview.

He added that the family would wait until officials complete their investigation before deciding whether to file a civil lawsuit.

Bennett said Damond’s body was still at the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Damond’s family told the Australian Associated Press it wished to bring her body back to Australia for burial. She is from Sydney.

“All we want to do is bring Justine home to Australia to farewell her in her hometown among family and friends,” her family said, according to AAP.

Noor, a Somali-American seen as a role model in the Somali community in Minneapolis, has refused to be interviewed by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the shooting. His attorney released a statement in which Noor expressed condolences to the Damond family, but declined to discuss the shooting.

Harteau told reporters she would prefer Noor speak about the incident. “There are questions that need to be answered and he is the only one who has those answers,” she said.

(Reporting by Todd Melby; Additional reporting and writing by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle, and Jane Wardell in Sydney; Editing by Diane Craft and Peter Cooney)