Australian woman killed in police shooting in Minneapolis: UPDATE

[canetoad]

Last edited Wed Jul 19, 2017, 12:28 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: The Age

BREAKING
July 17 2017 - 9:24AM


An Australian woman is believed to have been shot dead by police in the US city of Minneapolis.

The Star Tribune reported that police responded to reports of a possible assault about 11.30pm on Saturday, local time.

One police officer fired their weapon, killing the 40-year-old Australian woman, The Star Tribune reported.

Friends of the woman said she was an Australian native engaged to be married to a Minneapolis man.

--------------------------

UPDATE:
Fireworks may have startled Justine Damond's killer, US police officer Mohamed Noor
July 19 2017 - 12:38PM

The US police officers involved in the killing of Australian woman Justine Damond were startled by a loud sound near their squad car before she was shot at close range.

Officer Mohamed Noor, who opened fire on Ms Damond near her Minneapolis home on Saturday, is refusing to be interviewed by authorities investigating the tragedy but his partner Matthew Harrity has given a graphic account of what happened.

In an interview with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Officer Harrity described how the 40-year-old Australian woman, also known as Justine Ruszczyk, was gunned down.

Officer Harrity, who was driving, with Officer Noor in the passenger seat, told investigators he heard a loud sound immediately before Ms Damond approached the driver's side window of the squad car.

http://www.theage.com.au/nsw/justine-damonds-tragic-loss-in-us-prompts-malcolm-turnbull-to-demand-answers-20170718-gxdz6u.html

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/world/australian-woman-killed-in-police-shooting-in-minneapolis-reports-20170716-gxchas.html

[MBS]

1. Good God.

WTF?

[exboyfil]

2. Body cameras off

and squad car camera did not capture the shooting.

[lunasun]

3. RIP and good luck to her son

A man, claiming to be Zach, gave an interview to Women's March Minnesota on Sunday afternoon, saying the police were not being transparent about his mother's killing.

"My mom is dead because a police officer shot her for reasons I don't know, and I demand answers," he said.

"America sucks," he said.

[Oneironaut]

4. Let's not jump to conclusions.

Let the evidence come out before instantly blaming the cops.

[Randomthought]

5. Another police apologist.

This happen FIVE blocks from my house. The alley is well lit. This is an up market neighborhood. My husband is currently at a community meeting at the site (too hot for my asthma to walk). The Minneapolis police have a very bad rep for shooting innocent victims and since there are no consequences at this time it will continue until we demand accountability.

[Oneironaut]

7. That's a garbage response, and here's why:

Imagine yourself on a jury for a random case against a police officer, and you had no evidence on what happened (like now). Do you really believe "tons of other cops shot people in that community" is good evidence? That's complete nonsense.

[Randomthought]

11. no it is not

Past history is admissible

[Randomthought]

14. She called the police

Minneapolis police have shot crime victims in the past. And she may have been trying to talk to the police officers. See other post.

[Oneironaut]

17. Which in itself is not evidence that this shooting was illegitimate.

You cannot say for a fact that the police did anything wrong because there is no evidence pointing to that conclusion. The actions of previous police officers are irrelevant. That's the guilt by association fallacy.

[Randomthought]

18. You just want to argue

I'm done with you. You refuse to face the facts in front of you. don't bother to respond I have put you on ignore ; a first for me. this is my neighborhood and you are very insensitive to say the least. Our entire community is hurting and you insist on being a police apologist in spite of the evidence in front of you

[airmid]

26. I just wanted to say that I am very sorry that you and your neighbors are going through this. I have

a friend in Australia and she said this is all over their news. Many are devastated and outraged there.

[geek tragedy]

27. Yoga instructor in her pajamas gets gunned down in alley after calling police for help.

Regardless of who the perps are, there's a very strong presumption of criminal wrongdoing. This woman was not a threat.

[Oneironaut]

28. This certainly does not look good for the police,

but I am personally withholding judgment for now. I think this story needs more information.

[mwooldri]

6. "Investigators are trying to locate a video of the shooting..."

From the newspaper article:

"The officers' body cameras were not turned on at the time and the squad camera did not capture the incident," the BCA said in a statement.

"Investigators are attempting to determine whether any video of the incident exists."

So why were the officer's body cameras turned off?

I'm not jumping to any conclusions here. Police officer fired gun. Person dead. Those are facts. Body cameras turned off. Suspicious.

[Oneironaut]

8. I would agree with all of that.

[Break time]

9. Body cameras off

Should be automatic dismissal...Period.

[Wellstone ruled]

10. Why were these cameras off,

thought they changed procedures of engagement months ago in order that cameras had to be on when ever there was a contact. Watch for ugly to begin.

[gldstwmn]

35. Yes but she's dead.

Dead women tell no tales...

[Randomthought]

13. there may be video

As I said this is a very up market neighborhood, the mayor lives here. Many people have security cameras; not that they are needed but because they can afford them.
Also there are NINE security lights between this woman's home and where she was killed. That alley was lit up like a Christmas tree. So two cops are on paid vacation and an innocent woman ( Yoga instructor/ personal trainer) is dead.
I suspect that she was trying to flag down the squad car to talk with them and the cops were so cowardly they just opened fire.

[LanternWaste]

25. I fail to see how our own idle speculation is of any consequence...

I fail to see how our own idle speculation and benign discussions are of any real consequence...

[SergeStorms]

12. Dear lord,

what have they done now? When will this end?

My most sincere condolences to her family and friends. This is Trump America, and it has to stop.

[MarcA]

15. First the screw up then the cover up eom

[IronLionZion]

16. What the hell is going on in our country?

What could she have possibly done that seemed dangerous?

[Blue_Tires]

19. Because she's white and a foreign national, there will be plenty of attention and outrage

unless there is some damn good reason why the cops had to fire... And since the cops haven't said anything, I'm thinking it's just another trigger happy fuckwit...

The other benefit of her being white is nobody is going to be digging up her entire criminal history dating back to juvenile, nobody is going to be researching if she grew up in a single-parent home, etc.

[dalton99a]

22. +1

[uriel1972]

53. I agree...

And I'm a white Australian.. There is little to no coverage of the regular shootings of people who commit the crime of being "Black in the USA", here.
I don't want to minimize the tragedy of this shooting, I just want to see justice done for the victims and their loved ones of all the other shootings. At least the press could mention them, but it might confuse the narrative they are trying to construct.

Rupert Murdoch... Australia's greatest crime against Humanity.

[betsuni]

20. I'm calling it right now: she had her phone in her hand and made a gesture.

This is going to be huge news in Australia.

[dalton99a]

23. It is huge in Australia

[SweetieD]

21. Maybe our police killing a white non American woman will finally get international pressure

to make our government take this policing issue seriously. Sorry if that sounds cynical. No other developed country in the world has police killing citizens at the rate we have here.


I don't believe that in every scenario officers had no other choice. Officers need to use lethal force as the last resort.

[mercuryblues]

24. Not cynical enough IMO

My first thought was the police fucked up and found the perfect victim. White female. Australian citizen, with blonde hair.

[bluestarone]

29. these cops did everything wrong and

not jump to conclusions???? you got to be kidding me!!! To top it off THEY offer no explanation! so SOMETHING STINKS IN MN

[The Mouth]

39. Can't argue with a "give them the benefit of the doubt" copsucker

It's NEVER a bad shoot for some people

[B2G]

30. MPD Officer Who Shot Woman Identified As Mohamed Noor

MPD Officer Who Shot Woman Identified As Mohamed Noor
July 17, 2017 11:04 AM

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — WCCO has just learned the name of the Minneapolis officer involved in the shooting as Mohammed Noor.

His attorney Tom Plunkett confirmed Noor fired his weapon, killing Justine Damond.

The shooting happened Saturday night near 51st Street and Washburn Avenue South around 11:30 p.m.

Sources said us Justine Damond initially made the 911 call and was speaking to police officers Saturday night. They were near the alley when the officer in the passenger seat reached across and shot her. A cell phone was found near Damond’s body.

More at link...

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2017/07/17/mpd-officer-shot-woman-identified/

[sarisataka]

31. It get stranger

Three sources with knowledge of the incident said Sunday that two officers in one squad car, responding to the 911 call, pulled into the alley. Damond, in her pajamas, went to the driver’s side door and was talking to the driver. The officer in the passenger seat pulled his gun and shot Damond through the driver’s side door, sources said. No weapon was found at the scene.

http://www.startribune.com/woman-killed-in-officer-involved-shooting-in-south-minneapolis/434782213/#1

[oberliner]

32. Lack of Police Bodycam Video in Minneapolis Shooting Astounds Experts

After an Australian woman was shot dead by police in Minneapolis, experts are questioning why the officers' body cameras were not turned on during the encounter.

Although Minneapolis police have not named the officers involved, NBC affiliate KARE quoted sources as identifying the officer who shot Damond as Mohammed Noor. Police sources also told KARE that Noor, who was in the squad car's passenger seat, aimed across his partner and out the window to fire at Damond.

But because the body cameras were not activated, the series of events is remained murky.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lack-cops-bodycam-video-minneapolis-shooting-astounds-experts-n783806

What the hell?

[muriel_volestrangler]

33. Worse than that: they buffer 30 seconds, so both officers had time to turn it on to preserve

what happened, and both chose not to.

---snip---

The Minneapolis Police Department’s Policy and Procedure manual says that any use of force requires the camera’s activation. If things change quickly and the officer is too busy, he or she should activate the camera “as soon as it is safe to do so,” according to the manual.

The cameras constantly record a 30-second video buffer, a so-called “lookback” that allows officers to capture whatever happened in the half-minute before it’s activated.

http://www.startribune.com/failure-to-turn-on-body-cameras-flouted-minneapolis-police-policy/434991553/#1

Of course, once you've shot an innocent woman, you may be panicking. But they don't have the excuse of just "it escalated so quickly we couldn't record it". They have to admit incompetence.

[oberliner]

36. What could have happened here?

It is such a bizarre and tragic story.

[muriel_volestrangler]

38. I can't work it out - if the police are called to a sexual assault

and a woman comes up to them, the assumption would be she's the victim or person who phoned it in; or possibly a bystander. Dressed in pyjamas is not exactly threatening behaviour either. The officer would have to be paranoid to feel a threat from the situation.

[LisaL]

44. And from what has been reported, she was talking to the driver cop, when the passenger fired his

gun and killed her. The police have not even provided any reason as to why, to this day.

[Old Vet]

34. This whole story stinks to no end............

The coroner just classified it as a homicide. DUH, The only weapons were the ones the police had.

[Sunlei]

37. Another Cop shuts off his damn body camera.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

40. Two cops shut off their damn body cameras. And the dash camera. nt

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

41. It should be interesting to hear from the shooter's partner.

The driver was chatting with the woman, who was clearly unarmed standing in her pajamas, when his partner fired his gun, sending a bullet past the driver's ear and into the lady in her pajamas.

The shock of the gun blast, the shock of seeing someone shot, I can't imagine.

This story will go on for a while, considering all the international and cultural implications.

[LisaL]

54. There was a witness, a guy on the bike riding around at the time of the shooting.

I really hope that guy comes forward.

[Coventina]

43. The lesson on this is: Unless you are a white male, never call the police for anything.

Unbelievable!!

[oberliner]

45. Sometimes it doesn't work out too well for white males either

See Dylan Noble.

[Coventina]

46. Ah, but there the excuse is that he was under the influence.

So, he clearly had it coming.

(sarcasm)

[kwassa]

47. but now we have a Muslim terrorist policeman to blame ...

for shooting the blonde white woman.

[Randomthought]

48. I hope you are being sarcastic

I live 5 blocks from where this woman lived. Only one person on our neighborhood website mentioned ethnicity and that person was immediately called out by many others myself included.

[kwassa]

49. I am, but ....

I am being quite cynical about how this story will be cast on national news.

This will get snatched out of local media hands to a larger dysfunctional news agenda.

It is one thing for police to shoot black people. Blonde white women in upscale suburbs is a whole different matter, particularly if shot by a Muslim. This plays into the malevolence.

[Randomthought]

50. I'm cynical too

The Minneapolis police department is full of thugs. We would never call them and many of our neighbors feel the same way (I was surprised to learn.). While we are not the suburbs we are in an up market area of Minneapolis. Personally I would like to see the DOJ called in as in the past BCA has whitewashed rather than investigated.
My own cynical comment to my husband was since the shooter was black and Muslim the police would throw him under the bus and say "See we can clean our own house."

[Blue_Tires]

51. I saw the RWers were keeping pretty quiet on this story until the black cop with the muslim name

was shown...

But aren't they howling for justice now, and smearing the mayor for handing him a piece of paper two years ago...

[Noodleboy13]

55. Thoughts from a DU'er in Mpls.

There are several aspects to this particular shooting that are going to make it ...interesting.
The neighborhood is hardly a hotbed of shootings, much less violence. Most crime in Fulton is of the theft out of unlocked garages kind. The cops were not responding to a warzone.
That the body cameras were not activated is troubling. MPD just rolled them out, so they should be actively promoting their usage. Additionally, considering the city is a little on edge because of the Castillo shooting verdict (cop got off) that they should have been in full on cover your bases mode; their cameras should have been on when they were getting coffee.

This shooting also drastically alters from the unfortunately too familiar narrative of white cop shoots unarmed black teen. Media accounts are also going to have a field day with the Muslim angle. I put on a biosuit and waded over into the comments at Free Republic. Check it out, I dare ya.
It's far more complicated than that. Mpls boasts a huge and thriving Somali community, from which Mohammed Noor hails. The Somali community here is, to use a broad brush, very politically active and business minded. Mr Noor was, iirc, the first Somali officer on the MPD. To initial appearances, an immigrant success story.
Which brings me to some of my final thoughts. Noor had only been on the force for a short time, ditto his partner. They were both inexperienced.
Now I'm not a cop or a fire arms safety instructor, but I don't think firing ACROSS my partner is SOP.
Again, not a cop, but a woman in pajamas shouldn't amp one up to sudden lethal response levels.

just my 2 cents from mpls.

peace,
Noodleboy

[kwassa]

56. What neighborhood was this?

My wife and I did some serious house shopping in the twin cities area when she almost landed a major local job opportunity, so we have some familiarity. We covered a lot of territory.

[Noodleboy13]

57. The neighborhood is called Fulton.

Just southwest of Lake Harriet. Minnehaha creek runs nearby. It may even border Edina.
Beautiful Neighborhood, houses are a little pricey. One of my first girlfriends (mid 80's-wow i'm getting old) lived over there. I'm an Uptown/Wedge dude myself.


Peace,
Noodleboy

[TexasBushwhacker]

58. Yeah. Him reaching over his partner is bizarre. N/t