Matthew Harrity: Minneapolis Police Officer Who Spoke With Justine Damond As She Held A Cell Phone In Her Hand
The fatal shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a 40-year-old Australian woman living in Minneapolis, is sending shockwaves throughout the world, as previously reported by the Inquisitr. Now, both police officers who were present during the fatal shooting of Justine have been named. As reported by CBS, Mohamed Noor is the name of the police officer who pulled the trigger, reaching across his partner, Matthew Harrity, in the police vehicle to shoot Damond dead. The publication reported that a cellphone was discovered near Justine’s body.
According to Heavy, Justine was shot multiple times by Noor when Damond was holding a cellphone. Whereas the below full statement has been issued by Noor’s attorney, which speaks of Noor considering police work his calling, it doesn’t explain whether or not Noor thought the cellphone was a gun – and writes that there are several ongoing investigations into the shooting.
Kare 11 reports that Harrity was stunned by the actions of Noor when he reached across Matthew and shot and killed Justine. The publication notes complaints that Noor received, without providing details of the complaints.
Meanwhile, protests and vigils for Damond have taken place in the wake of Justine’s death. Don Damond, who was set to marry Justine in August, said that their family was heartbroken over Justine’s death.
The second officer involved in the Minneapolis shooting is Matthew Harrity, @KSTP reports. https://t.co/7iTc2oWFnl
— Mukhtar M. Ibrahim (@mukhtaryare) July 17, 2017
Officer Harrity has a singular open complaint on file, according to KTSP. Matthew’s complaint details are not known.
Harrity responded with Noor to Damond’s 911 call, about a potential assault behind her Fulton-area home. Now, Noor and Harrity are both on paid administrative leave.
Fiance Don Damond: "Our hearts are broken and we are utterly devastated by the loss of Justine". #justinedamond pic.twitter.com/VMdF6NW2Wc
— maury glover (@maurygloverFOX9) July 17, 2017
It was late Saturday evening, at approximately 11:30 p.m., when Noor reached across Matthew as the driver of the police squad car to shoot Justine, who was wearing pajamas.
https://www.facebook.com/betsy.hodges.7/posts/10208084565606591
Both Noor’s body camera and Harrity’s body camera were off when the shooting occurred.
The camera in the squad car did not capture the shooting either.
Full statement from Tom Plunkett, attorney for Mohamed Noor, MPD officer who shot and killed #justinedamond pic.twitter.com/Y1hX58WoYw
— Kent Erdahl (@kenterdahl) July 17, 2017
As reported by WCCO-TV in the following video, the family of Justine is desperate for answers in the wake of so many unanswered questions.
Adding to the controversy in the most recent shooting by a Minneapolis police officer are other shootings by authorities in the past that caused protests to spill into the streets as protesters sought justice for the dead.
https://www.facebook.com/CBSMinnesota/videos/10155675714668825/
[Featured Image by Jim Mone/AP Images]
