Dial 9-1-1 for Murder

Minneapolis Police Department (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We have unfortunately become accustomed to news reports of police officers who shoot unarmed citizens during routine stops, and what happens in the aftermath.  This has usually happened to African Americans and other minorities who get pulled over for nothing more than a minor traffic violation, then end up paying the price.

But something happened recently to change the narrative.  In a south Minneapolis neighborhood not usually associated with crime, police responded to a 9-1-1 emergency call regarding a possible sexual assault matter.  The woman who made the call, Justine Ruszczyk Damond, was talking to one of the officers when she was shot and killed.  The alleged assailant, Mohamed Noor, an officer who had been with the Minneapolis Police Department for less than two years, apparently shot Damond through an open window in his patrol car.

No charges have been filed against Noor or anyone else at the scene, as of July 25.  There is not much information about what else happened.  Body cameras on officers were never used, so police are interviewing witnesses the old-fashioned way.  Noor and his attorney have not made any kind of statement, not even to local authorities, much to the consternation of Damond's family, local officials and those in her native Australia who have been following the case.   (By the way, whatever happened to that sexual assault case?)

Taking the fall for this incident is Janee Harteau, who had been Minneapolis' Chief of Police until mayor Betsy Hodges (who faces re-election in November) asked for her resignation and got it.  Before that, Harteau couldn't be reached for days because she was backpacking in Colorado.  When she did return to town, Harteau told the media that Damond "didn't have to die" and that body cameras should have been used.  Hodges named assistant chief Medaria Arradondo to be acting chief, pending City Council approval.

Harteau, who became the first openly gay chief of police anywhere in 2012, was not let go simply because of a poorly-timed vacation.  She and her department had been under fire for such high-profile mishaps as the handling of the officer-involved shooting of an unarmed African American named Jamar Clark, which resulted in the refusal of the Hennepin County attorney to bring charges against the officers involved.  More recently, two officers were caught on security video shooting at barking dogs in somebody's back yard.

The lack of body camera footage in the Damond case is because, in Minneapolis, police officers aren't required to use them.  It's also possible that the cameras were turned off by the rank-and-file in response to the way Harteau and Hodges had been running things.

Noor is a native of Somalia, whose citizens came to Minnesota to escape the war and violence in their homeland.  With all the scrutiny Somalis have been getting from federal officials about young men who are allegedly joining terrorist organizations, and from others who have reacted negatively to their presence, the alleged shooting is just one more thing for them to deal with.

But most of all, incidents like the Damond case (and Jamar Clark and Philando Castile, etc.) have decreased our trust in law enforcement to protect and to serve.  You know those old movies and TV shows where the victim pleads with the lead character not to involve the police in their dangerous situation because (A) the hostage would be killed, or (B) the cops are such incompetent fools that not cooperating with them would be a plus.  When it gets to the point in real life where someone gets shot for making a 9-1-1 call like Justine Damond did, or for getting stopped for a minor traffic violation like Castile did, something's wrong.  Something is terribly wrong.

UPDATE (3/20/18):  Eight months after the incident took place, Noor surrendered and has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.  Should Noor be convicted in a court of law, he could be serving up to 25 years in prison on the murder charge and up to ten years on the manslaughter charge.