Questions surround fatal shooting of Australian woman in US

SBS World News Radio: The fiance of an Australian woman fatally shot by a police officer in the United States city of Minneapolis says authorities have provided little information about what happened.Justine Damond was shot after she called police to report what she believed was a sexual assault in an alley behind her home.

Messages are left at a makeshift memorial near the alley were Justine Ruszczyk was shot and killed by police in Minneapolis, MN., USA, 17 July 2017.  EPA/CRAIG LASSIG

Messages at a makeshift memorial near the alley were Justine Ruszczyk was shot and killed by police in Minneapolis, MN., USA, 17 July 2017. EPA/CRAIG LASSIG Source: AAP

On Saturday night local time, Justine Damond made an emergency call to police.

Minutes later, she was dead.

The Star-Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis is citing sources saying Ms Damond was dressed in her pyjamas and approached a police car that arrived.

The sources have told the paper that officer Mohammed Noor shot her through the car's window.

For reasons that remain unclear, police body cameras were not working, and the police radio recording offers little indication about what occurred.

(Operator:) "Squad 5-30 to 1024 Washburn Avenue South, female screaming behind the building."

(Officer at the scene:) "5-30, shots fired. Can we get the MS Code 3 Washburn and 51st Street? We've got one down."

The Washington Post says Justine Damond is one of at least 524 people fatally shot by police in the United States this year and the fifth in the state of Minnesota.

In another highly publicised police shooting in Minneapolis a year ago, Philando Castile was shot dead after police pulled his car over for faulty brakelights.

The police killings have become so common that US police and media sometimes use the word "routine" to sum up their aftermath.

Police who carry out such shootings are often reported as being sent on "routine paid administrative leave."

While Officer Noor and his police partner are now on such leave, Justine Damond's stepson, Zach Damond, and her fiance, Don Damond, say they are shattered.

The activist group Women's March Minnesota has made a video recording of Zach Damond and posted it on Facebook.

"My mum is dead because a police officer shot her for reasons I don't know, and I demand answers. And if anybody can help, just call the police and demand answers. I'm so done with all this violence. It's so much bullshit. America sucks. These cops need to get trained differently."

Zach Damond says his stepmother heard a disturbance in an alley behind their home and called the police.

"I just know that she heard a sound in the alley, so then she called the police ... and the cops showed up. And she was a very passionate woman, and she probably ... yeah, she thought there was something bad was happening. And then, next thing I know, they take my best friend's life."

At a news conference outside their home, he placed his hands over the shoulders of the man she was to marry next month, his father Don Damond, supporting him as he spoke.

"Sadly, her family and I have been provided with almost no additional information from law enforcement regarding what happened after police arrived. We've lost the dearest of people, and we're desperate for information. Piecing together Justine's last moments before the homicide would be a small comfort as we grieve this tragedy."

Justine Damond moved from Australia to the United States in 2015 and worked as a spiritual mentor and meditation teacher in the Minneapolis area.

Don Damond says the woman he was about to marry was a great teacher who was loving, kind and funny.

"She was a teacher to so many and living a life of openness, love and kindness. Our lives are forever changed as a result of knowing her. She was so kind and so darn funny. She made us all laugh with her great wit and her humour. It is difficult to fathom how to go forward without her in my life."

Minneapolis police chief Janee Harteau has released a statement saying she has asked for the investigation to be expedited to provide transparency.

She says she wants to answer as many questions as possible as quickly as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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4 min read

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Updated

By Greg Dyett



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