Cop named Mohamed shoots, kills unarmed woman who called 9-1-1

The Minneapolis cop who shot and killed a 40-year-old woman after she called 9-1-1 to report a possible crime near her home was identified Monday as the precinct’s first Somali-American officer — Mohamed Noor.

Noor has only been a police officer for two years and has already been sued for alleged unprofessional behavior. The May 2017 lawsuit also involved a female and accusations of brutality.

The shooting late Saturday night happened at the end of an alley in the city’s Fulton neighborhood.

Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a native of Sydney, Australia, was a veterinarian and a yoga instructor who recently got engaged to longtime boyfriend Don Damond. She and her fiancé lived in the 5000 block of Washburn.

Her fiance was out of town on business Saturday when she heard a commotion in the alley, then picked up the phone to call 9-1-1 to report a possible sexual assault in progress. She ended up being shot dead by one of the two responding officers.

The city has still not released the identity of the officer who fired multiple shots at Damond through his police-car door. But his name is Mohamed Noor, according to multiple sources cited by local media. Noor joined the force in March 2015 as the first Somali refugee serving in the 5th precinct.

Noor, 31, was born in Somalia.

KSTP, citing a source with direct knowledge of the shooting, reported that Noor was sitting in the passenger seat of the squad car at the time of the shooting and “shot across his partner” at Damond, who approached the officers’ car in her pajamas and began talking to the officer in the driver’s seat.

One of Damond’s friends, who identified herself only by her first name, Hannah, told the Star-Tribune that there was “no way” Damond would have been armed.

“She often talked about how much better it was in Australia, where people aren’t allowed to have guns,” Hannah told the local newspaper.

“This is a very bizarre story,” Debra Anderson, chair of ACT For America’s Minnesota chapter and a resident of Minneapolis. “How could a women in pajamas possibly be perceived as a threat, on the opposite side of the car, no less?”

The story is making headlines around the world.

Who is Mohamed Noor?

Noor joined the department in March 2015 and is assigned to the 5th Precinct in southwest Minneapolis. Before that, he worked in property management.

The Minneapolis Office of Police Conduct Review contains records that show Noor has had three complaints filed against him, two of which remain open, the Star-Tribune reports. Another was closed without discipline.

Minneapolis has the nation’s largest concentration of Somali refugees, with the community estimated at approximately 50,000 strong in the city. The city’s Democrat mayor and council have made every effort to hire Somalis as part of the city’s diversity program.

image:
Mohamed Noor, from a Somali refugee family, pictured with family.

Mohamed Noor, from a Somali refugee family, pictured with family.

Noor has already been sued in his brief, two-year career as a police officers. In a May 25, 2017 incident, he and another officer responded to a woman’s home and took her to the hospital, which the woman alleges constituted false imprisonment, assault and battery, the Star-Tribune reports.

According to the lawsuit, the officers claimed they had valid reasons to believe the woman, Teresa Graham, was experiencing a mental health crisis, having called 9-1-1 “a million times.” Noor allegedly “grabbed her right wrist and upper arm,” injuring her shoulder.

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Graham alleges that Noor and two other officers “without any reasonable or legal cause” forced “their way into Plaintiff’s house,” where they’re accused of having “violently and forcibly detained her, and transported her to a hospital against her will.”

According to KARE11, “Noor has two open complaints against him from 2017 and one from 2016.”

Last year, Mayor Betsy Hodges posted a note about Noor, lauding his hiring as a “wonderful sign” and shining example of community-oriented policing. She wrote:

“I want to take a moment to recognize Officer Mohamed Noor, the newest Somali officer in the Minneapolis Police Department. Officer Noor has been assigned to the 5th Precinct, where his arrival has been highly celebrated, particularly by the Somali community in and around Karmel Mall. The community even hosted a meet and greet event (see pics) to welcome him. A wonderful sign of building trust and community policing at work.”

No body cameras running

Both officers were wearing body cameras but the department said the cameras were not turned on at the time of the shooting on Saturday night. Their patrol car was also outfitted with a camera, which police say did not pick up any footage of the shooting.

The city has released very little information thus far about the incident. Mayor Betsy Hodges said at a news conference Sunday that she hoped more information would be available in the days ahead, especially about why the police body cameras were not turned on.

The official Twitter feed of the city of Minneapolis reported that Damond had recently been engaged to be married.

“I am heartsick and deeply disturbed by the fatal officer-involved shooting that happened last night,” Hodges said at the press conference.

“We have few facts at this point,” she said. “I want to know more. I call on the BCA to share as much information with all of us as quickly as they can.

“I have questions about why the bodycams weren’t on,” she said.

Assistant Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo confirmed that the officer bodycam program is fully implemented citywide but refused to say anything more about why there is no footage of the shooting.

Also mysterious is the fact that no weapon was found at the scene.

“Two Minneapolis police officers responded to a 911 call of a possible assault just north of the 5100 block of Washburn Avenue S. just before 11:30 p.m. Saturday,” the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a news release. “At one point, an officer fired their weapon, fatally striking a woman.

“The BCA’s investigation is in its early stages. More information will be available once initial interviews with incident participants and any witnesses are complete. … The officers’ body cameras were not turned on at the time and the squad camera did not capture the incident.

Detectives are trying to determine whether any video of the incident exists, but so far say none has been found.

The two officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol for all officer-involved shootings.

The shooting was called “tragic” by Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, who held a news conference about it at City Hall late Sunday afternoon, appearing with assistant Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo and Linea Palmisano, who represents the 13th Ward on the City Council.

“I am heartsick and deeply disturbed by the fatal officer-involved shooting that happened last night,” Hodges said.

“I know the neighborhood well,” said Hodges, who represented the area for eight years as a City Council member.

“We have few facts at this point,” she said. “I want to know more. I call on the BCA to share as much information with all of us as quickly as they can.

“I have questions about why the bodycams weren’t on,” she said.

Arradondo confirmed that the officer bodycam program is fully rolled out in Minneapolis but declined to say more about why there is no footage of the shooting.

Zach Damond, 22, whose father, Don, 50, was to be married to Justine in August, arrived at the scene with a close family friend about 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

While the couple were not yet married, Justine referred to herself as Damond on her personal website. Her maiden name was Justine Ruszczyk.

“Basically, my mom’s dead because a police officer shot her for reasons I don’t know,” Zach Damond told the Star-Tribune. “I demand answers. If anybody can help, just call police and demand answers.”

Damond said Justine called police after she “heard a sound in the alley.”

Dustin Johnson lives across the street from Justine and Don Damond. He told the Star Tribune that he and his wife saw the flashing lights and walked over to see police trying to “resuscitate” Damond as her body laid lifeless on the pavement.

Justine Damond’s death has been front-page news in Australia.

She was a meditation teacher and yoga instructor for the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community in Minnesota. The business calls itself “a center for conscious living.”

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