Justine Damond Shooting: Grand Jury​ Won't Be Used

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, not a grand jury, will make the charging decision in the shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond by a Minneapolis police officer July 15. "In the past, this office would then have convened a grand jury to determine if the officer should be charged with a crime," Freeman wrote in an email update Monday. "However, 18 months ago, I broke that precedent and said that from now on, I would make the charging decision, not a grand jury."

Freeman said his office has received some emails and phone calls from community members "demanding that we charge the officer immediately" and "ascribing all kinds of nefarious reasons as to why we haven’t done so."

"The truth is, we are following the same procedure we have with the three previous officer-involved shootings," Freeman stated.

Also read: Justine Damond Was 'Ripped From Our Arms': Father

"That procedure requires a thorough investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to make sure that when we receive the evidence of the case to undertake the charging decision, we have a complete understanding of what occurred before and during the incident. Once the investigation is complete, the file will be turned over to this office and the consideration of whether to charge begins."

Freeman said once the file is turned over to his office, he will "thoroughly review the investigation with several of our most senior prosecutors and make a decision."

"While I have no way of knowing how long the investigation and review will take, usually from the time of the officer firing the shot until our office’s announcement of a decision, four to six months have elapsed. I fully expect a decision in this case before the end of 2017," Freeman concluded.

Photo by Stephen Govel, used with permission