Hi there,

This month, Democracy Now! marks 29 years of fearless independent journalism. Presidents have come, gone and come back again, but Democracy Now! remains, playing the same critical role in our democracy: shining a spotlight on corporate and government abuses of power and raising up the voices of scholars, advocates, scientists, activists, artists and ordinary people working for a more peaceful and just world. If our journalism is important to you, please donate today in honor of our 29th anniversary. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much.

Democracy Now!

Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Minneapolis: Officer Who Shot 911 Caller Heard “Loud Noise”

HeadlineJul 20, 2017

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, newly released transcripts reveal 40-year-old resident Justine Ruszczyk called 911 twice to report a possible sexual assault outside her home last Saturday before she was shot dead by an officer responding to the emergency calls. According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, officer Mohamed Noor was startled by a loud sound shortly before Ruszczyk approached his police cruiser in her pajamas. Noor, who was seated in the passenger seat, shot Ruszczyk through the open driver’s-side window of the vehicle. Noor has apologized to the family of Justine Ruszczyk, who often went by her fiancé’s last name, Damond. Noor has declined to speak with investigators, and has hired an attorney. Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges says that’s left many questions in the killing unanswered.

Mayor Betsy Hodges: “Why did Officer Noor draw and fire his gun? What happened from the time the officers arrived on the scene to when she was pronounced dead? Why don’t we have footage from body cameras? Why were they not activated? We all want answers to those questions.”

Noor is the first Somali-American officer in his precinct. The killing came just weeks after Twin Cities police officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted on manslaughter charges for shooting African-American motorist Philando Castile in 2016.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top