Summary: An Australian woman was shot by Minneapolis police after she called them for help.
The family of Justine Damond wants justice. The Australian woman, 40, was fatally shot by Minneapolis police after she had called 9-1-1 about a possible sexual assault in her neighborhood, and her parents have hired attorney Robert “Bob” Bennett, according to Reuters.
Damond had called local police because of a possible rape in her neighborhood. Once the cops arrived, she approached their car, and through an open window of the patrol vehicle, an officer fired at her. Damond, 40, was shot in the abdomen and died from the wound. The officer’s partner said that Damond had “startled” the shooter.
After the killing, Damond’s family issued a statement.
“We are still trying to come to terms with this tragedy and we are struggling to understand how and why this could happen,” the Damond family said to CNN affiliate Sky News Australia. “All we want to do is bring Justine home to Australia to farewell her in her hometown among family and friends. In the meantime, we ask that you give us time to grieve in private and to support each other at this very difficult time.”
Authorities said that they are investigating the incident, and the officer who killed Damond, Mohamed Noor, has refused to make a public statement although he expressed condolences to Damond’s family.
Damond’s family hired attorney Robert “Bob” Bennett, who also represented Philando Castile’s family. In 2016, Castile was murdered by a police officer after a traffic stop. He told the officer that he had a legal firearm in his vehicle and as he reached for his identification, the officer fired at Castile multiple times. The incident was documented by a police camera as well as Castile’s girlfriend who was in the car.
Bennett represented Castile’s family and helped them receive a $3 million settlement.
Since being hired, Bennett has been interviewed by a local police station, and he criticized Minneapolis’s police force.
“She obviously was not armed,” Bennett said. “She was not a threat to anyone, nor could she have reasonably been perceived to be.”
Damond’s death is the third murder by Minnesota police officers in the last two years. The incident is being investigated although there is no known camera footage as Noor’s body camera was turned off during the shooting.
Bennett told CNN that the family is seeking justice beyond what had happened to their daughter.
“The family is interested in justice in (the) largest sense — an unbiased, transparent investigation, necessary changes in police training, officer selection criteria and practice, proper and non-discretionary policies on usage of forensic tools, including squad and body cameras, swift and sure discipline and full and complete recompense,” Bennett said.
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