Damond Shooting: Minneapolis Officer Noor Charged With Murder

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an Australian woman in July 2017 was jailed and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter Tuesday. Justine Ruszczyk Damond was killed by officer Mohamed Noor in an alleyway behind West 51st Street and Washburn Avenue South on July 15.

“In the short time between when Ms. Damond Ruszczyk approached the squad car and the time that he fired the fatal shot, there is no evidence that Officer Noor encountered a threat, appreciated a threat, investigated a threat, or confirmed a threat that justified the decision to use deadly force,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement.

According to Freeman, prosecutors have a nearly "second-by-second" account of what happened the night of July 15, 2017. Prosecutors also have a "detailed understanding" of the training Noor and his partner Matthew Harrity received before being hired by the Minneapolis Police Department.

Damond was killed minutes after she made a 911 call to report a disturbance behind her Minneapolis home. She lived on Washburn Avenue South with her fiancé, Don Damond, 50, whom she had planned to marry in August 2017, one month after the shooting occurred.

Her death quickly became international news.

Transcripts released by the city of Minneapolis show how Damond spent her final moments attempting to help a stranger she believed was possibly being raped.

"Hi, I'm, I can hear someone out the back and I, I'm not sure if she's having sex or being raped," she told a police dispatch at 11:27 p.m. on July 15. "It sounds like sex noises, but it's been going on for a while and I think she tried to say help and it sounds distressed."

A second transcript shows Damond calling 911 back to confirm police were on their way.

Officers Matthew Harrity and his partner Noor responded to the call.

Harrity drove their squad car into the alley on 50th Street. He turned off the headlights and dimmed the computer screen as they drove down the alley, but used his spotlight to look for people on the driver's side of the car, according to the criminal complaint.

The officers did not encounter anyone while driving through the alley. Noor entered "Code 4" into the squad computer, which communicates to dispatch they were safe and needed no assistance.

Five to ten seconds later, Harrity heard a voice as well as "a thump" somewhere behind him on the squad car, and caught a glimpse of a person’s head and shoulders outside his window. He could not see whether the person was a man or woman.

He said he perceived his life was in danger, reached for his gun, unholstered it, and held it to his ribcage while pointing it downward. He said that from the driver’s seat he had a better vantage point to determine a threat than Noor would have had from the passenger seat.

Harrity then heard a sound that sounded like a "light bulb dropping on the floor" and saw a flash. After first checking to see if he had been shot, he looked to his right and saw Noor with his right arm extended in the direction of Harrity, according to the criminal complaint.

Outside the squad car, Damond put her hands on a gunshot wound and said either "I’m dying" or "I’m dead," the complaint states. She died at the scene.

Read the entire criminal complaint in the case:

Damond's Family Releases Statement

In a statement sent to the Pioneer Press, Damond’s family praised the decision to charge Noor:

While we waited over eight months to come to this point, we are pleased with the way a grand jury and County Attorney Mike Freeman appear to have been diligent and thorough in investigating and ultimately determining that these charges are justified. We remain hopeful that a strong case will be presented by the prosecutor, backed by verified and detailed forensic evidence, and that this will lead to a conviction

No charges can bring our Justine back. However, justice demands accountability for those responsible for recklessly killing the fellow citizens they are sworn to protect, and today’s actions reflect that.

Also read: Timeline Of Justine Damond Shooting

Former Minneapolis police chief Janeé Harteau — who abruptly resigned less than a week after the shooting last summer — posted a statement to Twitter after news of the charges broke Tuesday:

Former Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges — who months later lost her reelection bid — said at the time she had "lost confidence" in Harteau's ability "to lead us further."

"From the many conversations 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 added.

According to her website, Damond was trained as a veterinarian before she began working as a spiritual healer and meditation coach:

Her interest in supporting people to heal and transform themselves developed after she saw family members suffer greatly from depression, alcoholism and cancer. After losing much of her family to cancer she has spent many years on a personal investigative journey to discover how habits and disease develop, and how people can change and live in joy, expressing their full potential.

Image via city of Minneapolis