Bride-to-Be Called 911 Once, Then Again 8 Minutes Later

City releases transcripts of Justine Damond's calls
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 20, 2017 3:03 AM CDT
Bride-to-Be Called 911 Twice Before She Was Shot
Mayor Betsy Hodges and Assistant Police Chief Medaria Arradondo address the latest developments in the death of Justine Damond.   (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)

Justine Damond called 911 twice to report a possible sexual assault in progress before she was shot dead by one of the responding officers, according to transcripts released by Minneapolis on Wednesday. In the initial call, at 11:27pm Saturday night, the 40-year-old Australian said she feared somebody was being raped in an alley near her home, NBC reports. "It sounds like sex noises, but it's been going on for a while and I think she tried to say help and it sounds distressed," Damond said. She was told officers were on their way. Eight minutes later, Damond called 911 again. She told the operator she had reported an emergency, "but no one's here and was wondering if they got the address wrong."

When the squad car arrived, she was shot dead by officer Mohamed Noor after approaching the vehicle. Officer Matthew Harrity, who was driving, has told Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigators that he was "startled by a loud sound" moments earlier. His lawyer tells the Star Tribune it is "certainly reasonable" to believe that the officers may have thought they were driving into a "possible ambush." Police say they found no evidence of a sexual assault in the area that night. Noor has declined to be interviewed by BCA investigators. In his first comments on the case, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton called it a "horrible tragedy" and said the state legislature should review its policy on body cameras, which the officers were wearing but had not turned on. (More Justine Damond stories.)

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