MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Latest on the fatal police shooting of an unarmed woman who called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in Minneapolis (all times local):
6:15 p.m.
The Minneapolis police chief says an officer who shot and killed an Australian woman who had called 911 wasn’t found to have any issues with his training.
Chief Janee (juh-NAY’) Harteau (HAR’-toh) says a review of Officer Mohamed Noor’s training in the wake of Saturday’s fatal shooting revealed no problems. She says training officers told her that Noor did well.
Noor shot and killed 40-year-old Justine Damond when she approached his police vehicle as it arrived behind her house in response to her 911 call. Noor has declined to speak to investigators, but his partner told them he heard a loud sound right before Damond approached.
Though she defended Noor’s training, Harteau says the shooting “did not have to happen” and that his actions “go against who we are in the department.”
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5:40 p.m.
The Minneapolis police chief says the fatal shooting of an Australian woman by an officer responding to her 911 call “should not have happened.”
Chief Janee (juh-NAY’) Harteau (HAR’-toh) says the actions of the officer who shot Justine Damond on Saturday night “go against who we are in the department” and against how officers are trained.
Harteau also says that Officer Mohamed Noor and his partner should have activated their body cameras before they encountered Damond. She says the department is examining its policy on cameras, including technological advances that turn them on automatically.
Harteau’s remarks Thursday on Damond’s death were her first. The chief had been out of town on a personal trip and faced questions about her absence since the shooting. She said she had been in close contact with her command staff.
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5:10 p.m.
The family of an Australian woman killed by a Minneapolis police officer responding to her 911 call says they are hoping an investigation wraps up as soon as possible.
Justine Damond’s family members in Australia say they want a resolution in her death. The state of Minnesota is investigating, but the officer who shot Damond hasn’t agreed to an interview.
Damond’s family says all they want to do “is bring Justine home to Australia” to give her a farewell in her hometown among family and friends. They ask for time to grieve in private.
Damond had called 911 on Saturday night to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home. She was shot when she approached the police vehicle that was responding.
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4:35 p.m.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges says she expects police officers in the city to activate their body cameras the moment they began responding to a call.
Hodges’ comments Thursday came in response to the fatal shooting of an Australian woman last weekend by a Minneapolis officer responding to her 911 call. Neither that officer nor his partner had his body camera turned on, and data show that’s often the case in Minneapolis.
In a blog post, Hodges calls that unacceptable.
She says she wants an independent audit of the city’s program, which has been in wide use for about eight months.
An assistant police chief said earlier this week that the department had been reviewing the body camera program before 40-year-old Justine Damond died, and wanted officers to record more often.
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4:15 p.m.
The family of an Australian woman shot dead by a Minneapolis police officer wants changes in police protocols.
Robert Bennett, attorney for the family of Justine Damond, tells WCCO-TV that the desired changes include a look at how often officers are required to turn on their body cameras.
The 40-year-old Damond was killed Saturday by Officer Mohamed Noor. Noor’s partner says the shooting happened after the partner heard a loud sound.
Other police shootings around the U.S. have led to calls for changes that include everything from bias training for officers to upgraded technology. Sometimes those changes have been initiated by departments themselves; sometimes they have been ordered by the federal government or through a lawsuit.
The Minneapolis Police Department has said it was looking at its body camera policy before Damond’s shooting.
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11:45 a.m.
A “march for healing” is planned for the Australian woman who was shot dead by a Minneapolis officer responding to her 911 call.
The event Thursday evening for 40-year-old Justine Damond invites members of the community to meet at her house for a candlelit walk about a half-mile to a lakefront park.
Damond called 911 twice Saturday night to report a possible sexual assault behind her home. The officer who shot her, Mohamed Noor, has declined to be interviewed by state investigators.
His partner told investigators he heard a loud sound right before Damond approached their police vehicle. He said Noor shot her through an open window.
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8:25 a.m.
The family of an Australian woman fatally shot by a Minneapolis police officer has hired the attorney who represented the family of black motorist Philando Castile, who was also gunned down by an area officer.
Minneapolis attorney Bob Bennett told The Associated Press in an email Thursday that he is representing Justine Damond’s family.
Bennett tells WCCO-TV that Damond’s family is in disbelief at her death on Saturday night, after she dialed 911 to report a possible sexual assault. Bennett says Damond wasn’t a threat to anyone, nor could she have reasonably been perceived as such.
Castile, a school cafeteria worker, was fatally shot by a police officer in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights during a traffic stop last July. The officer, Jeronimo Yanez, was acquitted in June of first-degree reckless homicide. Castile’s family reached a nearly $3 million settlement in the case.
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12:15 a.m.
A Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot a woman who called 911 to report a possible rape still hasn’t spoken with investigators and doesn’t have to.
But Officer Mohamed Noor will be compelled to give a statement to his department as part of an internal investigation. He could be fired if he refuses, but anything he says can’t be used in a criminal case.
Noor hasn’t provided his explanation for what happened Saturday when he fired a shot from the passenger seat of a squad car and killed 40-year-old Justine Damond.
The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says Noor’s partner, Officer Matthew Harrity, told investigators he was startled by a loud noise and Damond appeared at the driver’s side window. Noor fired, striking her in the abdomen.
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