Australian woman shot dead by Minneapolis police after calling to report crime

[zenkai]

Source

An Australian woman engaged to marry an American next month was shot and killed by a Minneapolis cop Saturday night after calling police to report an incident, leading her family and investigators to question what caused the deadly shooting.

The woman, identified as Justine Damond, 40, was killed in the late-night shooting in the city's Fulton neighborhood, Fox 9 reported. She reportedly had called to report an assault.

“Two Minneapolis police officers responded to a 911 call of a possible assault just north of the 5100 block of Washburn Avenue S. just before 11:30 p.m. Saturday,” the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a news release. “At one point, an officer fired their weapon, fatally striking a woman."

Police were trying to determine whether any video of the incident exists. The body cameras of the officers involved were not activated, according to police.

“Basically, my mom’s dead because a police officer shot her for reasons I don’t know.”
- Zach Damond

Damond, an Australian national and instructor with the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community, was engaged to be married in August and has a son, according to Fox 9. Her fiance, identified by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, as Don Damond, was reportedly on his way home from a business trip.

Damond, whose maiden name was Ruszczyk but went by her fiance's last name, called police after hearing a sound in a nearby alley, according to their son, Zach Damond, 22.

“Basically, my mom’s dead because a police officer shot her for reasons I don’t know,” Zach Damond told the Star-Tribune. “I demand answers. If anybody can help, just call police and demand answers. I’m so done with all this violence.”

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, at a press conference Sunday, called the shooting "tragic."

Michelle Gross, from Communities United Against Police Brutality, released a statement on Damond's death.

"Sadly we now [mourn the life of] Justine, a white woman living in southwest Minneapolis--who simply notified the police about an assault she was concerned about," Gross said. "She was being a good neighbor! And she lost her life being a good neighbor."

Both officers were placed on administrative leave.

The medical examiner's office will be conducting an autopsy.

What a vague fucking story...How? I will update when answers are known.

update

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-40651470

The shooting occurred as 40-year-old Ms Damond, dressed in her pyjamas, approached the driver's side door to talk to the officer at the wheel after police arrived.

Officer Mohamed Noor, who was sitting in the passenger seat, fired his weapon across his partner and through the driver's side window, striking Ms Damond, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said.

Officer Noor has refused to speak to investigators and US authorities say they cannot compel him to give a statement.

But the BCA said that Officer Matthew Harrity, who was driving the car, had told investigators that Ms Damond had come towards the car immediately after he heard a loud sound.

After the shooting, the officers are heard on the police radio recording telling dispatchers they are performing CPR and that "no suspects are at large".

State investigators say the officers failed to activate their body or dashboard cameras and both officers have been placed on administrative leave.
Why weren't the cameras on?

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges and Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman have both raised this question.

Minneapolis police are required to switch on their body cameras only during certain encounters, unlike in Los Angeles or Washington DC, where cameras must be switched on for any response to a call for service.

Instead, there are more than a dozen situations in which cameras should be used, according to the police manual, which adds that failure to use the camera could result in job termination.

"If a BWC [body-worn camera] is not activated prior to a use of force, it shall be activated as soon as it is safe to do so," reads the manual.

Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau has described Ms Damond's death as "tragic" and called for a quick investigation to provide "transparency".

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has said he will personally decide whether to charge Officer Mohamed Noor, rather than put the question to a grand jury.

Officer Noor, who has been described by local media as a Somali-American, has been with the police force for two years.

A statement from his lawyer said he had arrived in the US "at a young age" and described him as "a caring person with a family he loves and he empathised with the loss others are experiencing".

cont..........

[Deleted]

Vague indeed.

But in any case, it seems you take a big risk these days in the US if you call the cops to help you.

[Deleted]

Whats up with cops being so god dahm trigger happy?

[XangXu]

I have said this hundreds of times and people don't seem to take my warnings seriously.

- Do not travel to the United States, they are in the midst of a silent civil war.
- The United States has detached itself from the rest of the world.
- The United States is violent and dangerous and is akin to vacationing in North Korea, Syria, The Congo, or any other region wrought with turmoil and corruption.

People need to start treating the United States as they would a dangerous 3rd world country, becsuse that is honestly what it has become. If anyone travels there and is hurt, you were warned. Just like when they labotamized that Western kid in North Korea... he knew the risks.

Same applies to America. You know the risks...

(Infracted)

[zenkai]

Whats up with cops being so god dahm trigger happy?

hundreds of thousands of police interaction happen everyday with 0 incidents, it's just the ones every now and then like this that get reported on that make it seem like it happens all the time.

[Devilyaki]

She was a zombie, they saved us all.

[XangXu]

The most hilarious post of the day, and it's only 9am EST. Bravo.

I wonder how many vacationers realize that when they walk into an American 7-11 to get a slurpee, the guy at the counter most likely has a loaded shotgun within arms reach.

It always caught me off guard in Hawaii when I had to think "oh yeah, I was most likely standing closer to a firearm than I ever have in my life while getting my ice cream"

It's fucked up, but most Americans don't think so.
That makes it even more so.

[Independent voter]

Veterinarian and yoga instructor. It said "vet", I guess that could mean former military.

I'm curious as to what led to this shooting.

[Sunseeker]

I wonder how many vacationers realize that when they walk into an American 7-11 to get a slurpee, the guy at the counter most likely has a loaded shotgun within arms reach.

It always caught me off guard in Hawaii when I had to think "oh yeah, I was most likely standing closer to a firearm than I ever have in my life while getting my ice cream"

It's fucked up, but most Americans don't think so.
That makes it even more so.

And how many of those cashiers shot you?

Oh, right, none.

[chewie49]

The government is the biggest danger to people than any other thing.

[XangXu]

And how many of those cashiers shot you?

Oh, right, none.

And how many police shoot civilians? Forget about the cashier. If trained police officers are that fucking gun happy...

Come on dude. It's not the fact that the cashier might shoot me, it's the fact that he feel he needs a firearm in the first place.

[Citizen T]

Additional information source below but I'm not sure how much credence to give it:

The woman was standing at officer driving window. Shot by passenger officer through the car door. Seeing as how they hadn't even left the vehicle could explain why body cameras hadn't been activate.

At this point even if I give the officer the benefit of the doubt and assume it was an accident, he should still be charged with manslaughter as I cannot imagine what reason he would have to draw his firearm while in the car since it has been reported that no weapons were found with the woman.

http://www.startribune.com/woman-kil...s/434782213/#1

[Enthusiastic Steward]

I have said this hundreds of times and people don't seem to take my warnings seriously.

- Do not travel to the United States, they are in the midst of a silent civil war.

We are? Where? Who's fighting? What are the sides? What do they want? Do they have flags?

- The United States has detached itself from the rest of the world.

FALSE. The United States remains firmly attached to the surface of the planet, and maintains economic and political ties with many other nations. MYTH BUSTED.

- The United States is violent and dangerous and is akin to vacationing in North Korea, Syria, The Congo, or any other region wrought with turmoil and corruption.

TRUE. Stealing a patriotic poster form a motel in Idaho will get you sentenced to years in a hard labor camp for un-American activities with severe government reprisals directed at your extended family. Wisconsin and Syria are virtually indistinguishable from each other. Virginia is frequently referred to as 'New Congo' due to the complete lack of infrastructure and the monthly deaths of tens of thousands from famine and disease.

People need to start treating the United States as they would a dangerous 3rd world country, becsuse that is honestly what it has become.

FALSE. The term 'Third World' was developed during the Cold War and its current usage is not only incorrect, but nonsensical without the context in which it was created.

If anyone travels there and is hurt, you were warned. Just like when they labotamized that Western kid in North Korea... he knew the risks.

Same applies to America. You know the risks...

Montana is very dangerous. You can trip and fall on a scenic hike. You have been warned.

[Quibble]

And how many of those cashiers shot you?

Oh, right, none.

Maybe not.. But you're still a joke to most of the world.

Guns do not make you safer, it only allows for more killings.

Most of the world is doing fine without guns in every home, and as a result we also have far less killings.

[XangXu]

We are? Where? Who's fighting? What are the sides? What do they want? Do they have flags?

FALSE. The United States remains firmly attached to the surface of the planet, and maintains economic and political ties with many other nations. MYTH BUSTED.

TRUE. Stealing a patriotic poster form a motel in Idaho will get you sentenced to years in a hard labor camp for un-American activities with severe government reprisals directed at your extended family. Wisconsin and Syria are virtually indistinguishable from each other. Virginia is frequently referred to as 'New Congo' due to the complete lack of infrastructure and the monthly deaths of tens of thousands from famine and disease.


FALSE. The term 'Third World' was developed during the Cold War and its current usage is not only incorrect, but nonsensical without the context in which it was created.



Montana is very dangerous. You can trip and fall on a scenic hike. You have been warned.

yet here we are with an innocent woman dead and a record for insanity and civilian shootings. But everything is peachy right?

[Sunseeker]

And how many police shoot civilians? Forget about the cashier. If trained police officers are that fucking gun happy...

You brought up cashiers and how "close to guns" you were just getting a slurpee. I'm just using your own argument.

Come on dude. It's not the fact that the cashier might shoot me, it's the fact that he feel he needs a firearm in the first place.

And how many 7/11's have you been in where someone held up the place?

I'm going to bet the answer is the same as before.

[XangXu]

You brought up cashiers and how "close to guns" you were just getting a slurpee. I'm just using your own argument.


And how many 7/11's have you been in where someone held up the place?

I'm going to bet the answer is the same as before.

3

post to short

[Sunseeker]

Maybe not.. But you're still a joke to most of the world.

Your opinion of me and my country is so far from my concerns that it could be mistaken for a exoplanet.

[XangXu]

Your opinion of me and my country is so far from my concerns that it could be mistaken for a exoplanet.

And that is why your country is failing...

[Sunseeker]

And that is why your country is failing...

Because we don't do what every two-bit-foreigner tells us to do?

lolz