Australian woman visiting the US calls 911 for noise complaint, gets the bullets instead
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King Ghidorah
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The shooting of an Australian woman by US police has raised serious concerns after it was revealed the officers did not have their body cameras turned on.
Justine Damond, aged 40, was shot dead in Minneapolis about 11:30pm local time on Saturday after two officers responded to a report of a possible assault.
Her stepson Zach Damond, 22, said she called police after hearing a noise in the alleyway near their house in the suburb of Fulton.
"At one point an officer fired their weapon, fatally striking a woman," the police department said.
"Officers were dispatched. When officers responded, an officer-involved shooting occurred, which resulted in one adult female victim who is deceased and which has prompted our callout to the BCA [Bureau of Criminal Apprehension].
"The BCA will now further be conducting this investigation, this officer-involved shooting, from this point forward."
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said in a statement that she was "heartsick and deeply disturbed by the incident".
"I'm seeking answers to the questions we all have, and will make sure to keep the communication flowing," she said.
Ms Hodges said she understood the police body cameras and squad camera, which were introduced to the Minneapolis Police Department last year, were not switched on when the shooting occurred.
The two officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure.
A rally organised by local activist Mel Reeves was held at the site of the shooting, while other community members gathered for a vigil in Ms Damond's neighbourhood.
Local media say neighbours are mystified as to what occurred.
Zach Damond spoke at the vigil calling for more information and transparency from the authorities.
"Basically my mum is dead because a police officer shot her for reasons I don't know, and I demand answers," Mr Damond said.
"I just know that she heard a sound in the alley so she called the police, and the cops showed up.
"And she probably… thought something bad was happening and then the next thing, they take my best friend's life.
"I'm so done with all this violence, it's so much ? .
"America sucks, these cops need to be trained differently and I need to move out of here."
The shooting has reopened a deep rift between community members and the authorities as it comes one year after Minneapolis man Philando Castile was shot and killed by Minneapolis police officer Jeronimo Yanez.
A video from the aftermath of last year's shooting was livestreamed on Facebook.
It showed a woman interacting with an armed officer as the fatally injured man lay on the footpath.
The local community was left reeling after Mr Yanez was acquitted of all charges exactly one month ago and fired by the City of Saint Anthony.
Leslie Redmond, the vice-president for the Minneapolis NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People), has called for a federal investigation into the latest shooting.
"I am shocked and appalled by the limited amount of information available right now. What are they covering up?" she said.
Minnesota newspaper The Star Tribune reports Ms Damond was dressed in her pyjamas when she went to the driver’s side door of the police vehicle that responded to the emergency call.
She was talking to the driver when the officer in the passenger seat pulled out his gun and shot across his fellow officer.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-17/australian-woman-shot-dead-by-police-in-minneapolis/8714330
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Comments
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Lawd Can't Wait to hear the explanation on this.....
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Lawd Can't Wait to hear the explanation on this.....
I think 'I was afraid for my life' is still batting .1000 -
Whats the point of body cameras again?
They seem to always be "conveniently" off. -
Something tells me there will be justice in this case....wonder why..
We'll see tho -
Alllrrrighty NOW we talking!!!! First pigs 2 get locked? Popped a White Aussie? I'mma follow this ? like the yellow brick road. Her son probably ain't never give a ? bout us but his statement shows he knows full well what's going on here. Oh well.
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Something tells me there will be justice in this case
Don't be too sure Ms. Cleo, that's like betting against the house -
Look they feared for their life
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King Ghidorah wrote: »
The house is a white one. The white woman card is a trump card. -
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Australia might step in and demand answers on this one though...
She probably crocodiled dundee lunged at his gun though... -
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"the alley was dark and uncooperative... In the interaction with the dark alley, the alley was belligerent and showed aggressive dark behavior... In the ensuing altercation of subduing the dark alley an innocent white lady was unfortunately hit by a bullet from the officers service weapon and subsequently killed.
Street lights need to do a better job of raising these alleys and giving them the light they so desperately need in order to avoid unfortunate situations such as this."
The streetlight stated," the alley was a good alley that didn't bother anyone and is a staple of this community. Alley has been here his whole life and never bothered anyone. It's just sad all the way around"
WPIG news -
@Copper.... U right dog. They just might. Didn't India have sum'n 2 say when them cops rushed that old ghandi like Indian ( they thought he was black) and broke his back? Nice settlement 2!
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word.. Australia should have something to say.. Since we had senators and a president tell us how ? up North Korea is for what happened to Warmbeir....
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Wow, more blood. This organization cannot continue to ? the innocent without any backlash. A storm is coming
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Where is #alllivesmatter? Will they speak out about this tragedy?
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Maybe she should've cooperated with their demands.
Let's wait for all the details to come out before placing the blame on these fine officers of the law.
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Snitches got bullets this time
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Beech Oss Neega wrote: »Where is #alllivesmatter? Will they speak out about this tragedy?
Good point, but those people will simply use this as a pivot to prove that cop shootings are not racially motivated because a white woman was murdered... -
In America, the deadliest animals are police.
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its was a Somali cop who shot her...they finna fry his ass
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I wonder how they felt about Philando and the MNPD a few weeks ago.....
hate to see another innocent person killed, either way smh
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We don't know the circumstances she might have shot herself, let the police union do their job