FILE - In this Aug. 11, 2017, file photo, Johanna Morrow plays the didgeridoo during a memorial service for Justine Ruszczyk Damond at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. Jurors on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, heard the 911 calls Damond made to report a possible sexual assault before she was shot by a Minneapolis officer now on trial for murder in her death. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP, File)
Republished April 11, 2019 - 5:00 PM
Original Publication Date April 11, 2019 - 11:06 AM
MINNEAPOLIS - The fiance of a woman who was fatally shot by a Minneapolis police officer after she called 911 to report a possible crime cradled his head in his hands Thursday as body camera footage of attempts to save her was played at the officer's trial.
Don Damond declined to watch the chaotic footage of the unsuccessful efforts to save Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who was shot minutes after calling 911 to report a possible rape near her home. Justine was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia who had taken her fiance's last name ahead of their wedding, set for a month after her July 2017 death.
The Star Tribune reported that one officer's body camera showed Officer Mohamed Noor and his partner taking turns performing CPR before firefighters arrived and took over.
Noor is charged with murder and manslaughter. He was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department after being charged.
Defence attorneys have said Noor was reacting to a loud noise and feared an ambush. Prosecutors have argued there was no evidence Noor faced a threat that justified deadly force.
The head of the city's police homicide unit, Lt. Richard Zimmerman, testified Thursday that lighting in the alley was bright enough that he could see the officers clearly when he arrived. Defence attorneys have contended that lighting was poor in the alley the night Damond was shot.
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Check out the AP's complete coverage of Mohamed Noor's trial.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019