Community demanding answers after woman shot dead by police
Australian woman killed by Minneapolis police after calling to report possible crime; Mike Tobin reports from Chicago
A prosecutor in Minneapolis on Wednesday blasted investigators involved in the probe of the police-officer-involved shooting death of an unarmed Australian woman in July.
Mike Freeman, the Hennepin County attorney, said he doesn’t have enough evidence to charge Somali-born Officer Mohamed Noor, who shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond in an alley behind her home.
Damond had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault. As she approached the squad car, Noor fired from the passenger seat, across his partner and through the driver’s window.
Officer Mohamed Noor, who shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond in the alley behind her home. His lawyer called the incident a 'horrible tragedy,' not a crime. (Minneapolis Police Department)
“I’ve got to have the evidence. And I don’t have it yet. And let me just say, it’s not my fault,” Freeman said in a video that was posted on Facebook. “So if it isn’t my fault, who didn’t do their jobs? Investigators, and they don’t work for me. And they haven’t done their job.”
Freeman was at a Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation holiday reception Wednesday night, after he was asked about a charging decision. It was unclear if Freeman knew he was being recorded.
Freeman didn’t name the investigators or their agency, but the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is leading the investigation. The BCA turned the case over to Freeman in September. The bureau issued a statement Thursday saying it continues to work with Freeman’s office.
“The BCA conducts the majority of officer-involved shooting investigations in Minnesota, and the collaboration between prosecutors and investigators as a case file is reviewed under the statutes is a typical part of the review process,” the BCA statement said. “State law prohibits us from providing additional details, because it is an active investigation.”
Freeman had previously said he expected to make a charging decision by the end of the year. His office acknowledged the video Thursday and did not dispute its authenticity.
“We are working diligently on the case to complete the investigation as soon as possible,” the statement said. “Beyond that, we cannot comment at this time.”
Freeman indicated that Noor’s refusal to speak had put prosecutors in a difficult position.
“I have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, (that) the moment he shot the gun, he feared for his life. And he used force because he thought he was gonna be killed,” Freeman said. “But I can’t. He won’t answer my questions because he doesn’t have to, OK? We all have Fifth Amendment rights, and I respect that. So I can’t talk to her because she’s gone, and the other cop just gave us some (expletive), OK? So guess what? I gotta figure out angles of the shot, gun residues, reckless-use-of-force experts.”
"He won't answer my questions because he doesn't have to, OK? We all have Fifth Amendment rights, and I respect that."
Freeman didn’t immediately respond to a request from the Associated Press for an interview. In an email to the Star Tribune, Freeman declined to respond to questions about how investigators have failed to do their job.
“Good questions and I respect you asking them,” Freeman wrote in the email. “We are working very hard to complete our review of the facts provided in the investigation to date and to assist in helping to complete the investigation.”
Sanchez is also an organizer with the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, which was formed after the fatal shooting of Jamar Clark by a Minneapolis police officer in 2015. Freeman decided not to charge the officers involved in that case.
Sanchez told Minnesota Public Radio that he was surprised by Freeman’s honesty but disheartened that he hasn’t yet made a decision.
Minneapolis attorney Bob Bennett, who represents Damond’s relatives in Australia, told MPR he was concerned but not surprised by Freeman’s comments.
“I hope that the BCA hasn’t so irretrievably damaged the evidence, or failed to recover evidence that should be reasonably expected to be recovered at the time that the crime occurred,” Bennett said. “And I use the term ‘crime’ pointedly and intentionally.”
Noor’s attorney, Thomas Plunkett, told MPR that he was concerned by Freeman’s remark that having enough evidence to make a charging decision would be “the big present I’d like to see under the Christmas tree.” He also said the job of investigators is to gather evidence, not create it.
“No lawyer wants their client placed under a Christmas tree as a present to a vocal segment of the community. That said, this case is about an officer that follows procedure and training,” Plunkett said. “This led to the death of a very fine person, which is a horrible tragedy, but not a crime.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
