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Minneapolis: Officer Who Shot 911 Caller Heard “Loud Noise”

HeadlineJul 20, 2017

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, newly released transcripts reveal 40-year-old resident Justine Ruszczyk called 911 twice to report a possible sexual assault outside her home last Saturday before she was shot dead by an officer responding to the emergency calls. According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, officer Mohamed Noor was startled by a loud sound shortly before Ruszczyk approached his police cruiser in her pajamas. Noor, who was seated in the passenger seat, shot Ruszczyk through the open driver’s-side window of the vehicle. Noor has apologized to the family of Justine Ruszczyk, who often went by her fiancé’s last name, Damond. Noor has declined to speak with investigators, and has hired an attorney. Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges says that’s left many questions in the killing unanswered.

Mayor Betsy Hodges: “Why did Officer Noor draw and fire his gun? What happened from the time the officers arrived on the scene to when she was pronounced dead? Why don’t we have footage from body cameras? Why were they not activated? We all want answers to those questions.”

Noor is the first Somali-American officer in his precinct. The killing came just weeks after Twin Cities police officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted on manslaughter charges for shooting African-American motorist Philando Castile in 2016.

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