Justine Damond Shooting: Minneapolis Police Chief Resigns As Protesters Call For Mayor To Step Down
Although Minneapolis police chief Janee Harteau resigned on Friday, as requested by Mayor Betsy Hodges, many of the city’s residents appear unsatisfied. Protesters took over a press conference to demand Hodges also resign in the aftermath of the Justine Damond shooting, where two police officers allegedly shot the Australian woman dead after responding to her 911 call.
In a prepared statement quoted by the Huffington Post, Hodges acknowledged Harteau’s contributions over the past 30 years, as she had overcome a lot of the challenges women go through while rising up the ranks in the male-dominated field of law enforcement. But while Hodges noted that Harteau deserves the city’s thanks for her contributions, she also acknowledged that the longtime Minneapolis police chief had to resign because she had “lost the confidence” of the city’s people, based on conversations the mayor had with residents following Justine Damond’s fatal shooting.
The 40-year-old Damond was reportedly shot dead last Saturday by 31-year-old Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor, who, together with his partner, responded to the Australian woman’s 911 call reporting a possible sexual assault. According to the Huffington Post, Noor has yet to speak to investigators, and police have yet to issue a statement explaining the circumstances behind the shooting.
My statement on @MinneapolisPD Chief Janeé Harteau: pic.twitter.com/osH07kXc4i
— Betsy Hodges (@BetsyHodges) July 21, 2017
Minneapolis police chief Harteau’s resignation comes just one day after she had made her first public statement about the death of Justine Damond. Commenting on the shooting, she called it “unnecessary” and against the department’s training. According to People, Harteau also stressed that Damond “didn’t have to die,” and that the shooting was only representative of one person’s actions, and not of the entire police department.
“Based on the publicly released information from the BCA [the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension], this should not have happened. On our squad cars, you will find the words, ‘To protect with courage and serve with compassion.’ This did not happen.”
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, word of Hodges’ announcement of the Minneapolis police chief’s resignation drew cheers from a crowd of approximately 200 people that had rallied to demand justice for Justine Damond. But Janee Harteau’s resignation over the shooting wasn’t enough for a second, smaller group of protesters, who reportedly headed to the Minneapolis City Hall later that evening to demand that Hodges also step down. Doors at City Hall were closed once the protesters arrived to interrupt the Mayor’s news conference.
Ultimately, doors were opened to City Hall, allowing the protesters to crash the presser and call for Hodges to resign. As the Star Tribune noted, Hodges later spoke to a small group of reporters and stressed that she will not be resigning.
The Huffington Post wrote that one of the protesters was John Thompson, the best friend of Philando Castile, whom police officers had shot dead in July 2016 in a suburb of Minneapolis’ “twin city,” St. Paul.
“The city is out of control when it comes to policing,” fumed Thompson.
“You are the head coach so to speak. Your team’s out of control. Turning body cameras on and off when they want to… But I think there are other officials in the city that should follow suit and I’m demanding that that happen. Swallow your pride and just say, ‘I failed at doing my job. I’m not effective.'”
The rallies that took place after Minneapolis police chief Harteau’s forced resignation were not the first in the city to take place in response to the Justine Damond shooting. On Thursday night, Philando Castile’s mother, Valerie, spoke at a rally attended by hundreds of people who gathered in the neighborhood where Damond was vacationing in at the time of her shooting.
[Featured Image by Jim Mone/AP Images]
