Justine Damond, a 40 year-old yoga and meditation instructor, was just a few weeks away from getting married. This should have been one of the happiest times in her life, yet it turned tragic near midnight on Saturday when she called the police reporting that she heard a noise in an alleyway behind her home.
According to the New York Daily News, she met the police outside while wearing her pajamas and that’s when things went south. An officer in the police car shot and killed unarmed Damond.
A blonde-haired, white woman is not your average case of police brutality in America, as we have seen unarmed black men and women killed over and over again and not one cop convicted or held accountable for it.
Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin, and most recently DeJuan Guillory are just a few of those black men and women who died at the hands of those who were sworn in to “protect and serve”.
Apparently, the police car’s dash camera did not capture the moments that lead to Daymond’s death and the officer’s body camera’s were shut off.
According to KARE, the officer who pulled the trigger was Mohamed Noor, who came to the United States from Somali at a young age and joined the Minneapolis Police Department in March 2015.
Noor’s lawyer, Tom Plunkett, issued a statement.
No details have been given at this time as to why the police felt it was necessary to shoot Damond. She Was known for being a spiritual healer and was from Australia, but had relocated to Minneapolis.
Both of the officers involved are on paid administrative leave which isn’t a surprise compared to the similar brutalities listed above.
A report by NBC News stated that Daymond’s family issued the following statement:
“This is a very difficult time for our family. We are trying to come to terms with this tragedy and to understand why this has happened,” read the statement.
Don Damond, told reporters Monday that he and the Ruszczyk (Damond’s real last name) family were heartbroken.
While families and friends of Damond are looking for answers, people have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts.
Right is right and wrong is wrong regardless of race, gender, or status. This instance keeps reoccurring across the country and must come to an end because too many lives are being taken by those who are supposed to be there to help us, not kill us.
UPDATE The audio transcripts of Damond’s 911 calls have been released:
http://www.fox9.com/news/268861697-story
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