The Minneapolis police chief said on Thursday the fatal shooting of an unarmed Australian woman by a police officer violated department training and procedures, and that the victim “didn’t have to die.”
The death of Justine Damond, 40, from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen fired through an open window of a police patrol car, has outraged her relatives and the public in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called it “shocking” and “inexplicable.”
“Justine didn’t have to die,” Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau said in her first news conference about the shooting.
Harteau said she apologized to Damond’s fiance for the loss of life, adding that the action taken by Officer Mohamed Noor, who fired the fatal shot, reflected “one individual’s actions.”
She said the body cameras of the two officers on the scene should have been activated.
Based on the available information, Harteau said: “The actions in question go against who we are as a department, how we train, and the expectations we have for our officers.”
