Jury hears Justine Damond’s call to police minutes before death

Justine Damond’s loved ones became distraught in court as the jury heard audio of the calls she made to police minutes before being killed.

Justine Damond-Ruszczyk’s family wept in a Minneapolis court as they listened to the Australian life coach’s haunting 911 calls and saw crime-scene photos of her body lying in an alley, partially covered by a white sheet.

Audio of the calls Ms Damond made to report a possible sexual assault, before she was shot by the Minneapolis officer now on trial for murder in her death, were played to the jury.

The recordings of Ms Damond’s voice drew an emotional response from her family members in the Hennepin County courtroom where Mohammed Noor is on trial.

Ms Damond’s father, John Ruszczyk, her brother Jason Ruszczyk and American fiance Don Damond sat in the front row of the downtown Minneapolis courtroom.

In the first call she made, Ms Damond said she could hear “sex sounds” that had been “going on for a while” in the alley behind her house and was concerned a woman might be in danger, according to Minneapolis newspaper the Star Tribune.

“I think she just yelled out for help,” Ms Damond told the dispatcher, then adding, “I’m not sure.”

When police failed to arrive a short time later, Ms Damond called 911 again.

“Hi, I just reported one but no one’s here and was wondering if they got the address wrong,” adding the address was “5024 Washburn Avenue South … it’s supposed to be Washburn Avenue South.”

Justine Damond with her parents Katarina and John Ruszczyk. Picture: Nathan Edwards

Tears rolled down Mr Damond’s cheeks as photos of Ms Damond with the top of her head, bare feet and left hand sticking out from under the white sheet were shown to the jury on large screens in the courtroom.

Her glittery gold iPhone was lying near her feet.

Jason Ruszczyk put his head on his father’s right shoulder and his dad patted him in comfort.

Noor shot the unarmed Australian in an alley behind her home in July 2017 when she, barefoot and wearing pyjamas, approached the police SUV where Noor and his partner were seated.

Noor’s attorneys say he was protecting his partner and himself from what he perceived to be a possible ambush.

Defence lawyer Tom Plunkett said Noor and his partner, Matthew Harrity, would haven’t known they were responding to a possible sexual assault because they didn’t hear her 911 calls and were told by dispatchers only that there was a report of a woman screaming behind a building.

Noor, 33, is charged with murder and manslaughter. He fired a single shot at Ms Damond whose death rocked both countries and led to changes in the Minneapolis Police Department.

Attorneys for Noor, who was sacked after being charged in the case and has never talked to investigators about what happened, argued he used reasonable force to defend himself and his partner from a perceived threat.

But prosecutors say there is no evidence he faced a threat that justified deadly force.

Prosecutors could introduce body camera video later on Wednesday, allowing jurors to see footage that didn’t capture the shooting but shows attempts to save the woman.

Noor and Officer Harrity did not have their body cameras turned on when Noor shot Ms Damond, a dual citizen of the US and Australia. The officers switched on the cameras after the shooting.

Australian woman Justine Ruszczyk Damond was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis in July 2017. Picture: Stephen Govel

The judge hearing the trial initially ruled the footage would be shown only to the jury, citing Ms Damond’s privacy as the footage shows her partially unclothed as the officers try to resuscitate her. The judge relented on Monday after a challenge led by media outlets.

In opening statements on Tuesday, defence lawyer Peter Wold said Noor was reacting to a loud noise and feared an ambush, calling the shooting “a perfect storm with tragic consequences”. The shooting came just two weeks after an officer in New York was ambushed and killed in a parked vehicle. Noor and his partner were rolling down a dark alley in response to the 911 call from Ms Damond when a bicyclist appeared in front of them and they heard “a bang”, Mr Wold said.

“It is the next split second that this case is all about,” Mr Wold said.

Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor fatally shot Justine Damond and is now on trial for her murder. Picture: AFP

Prosecutor Patrick Lofton, in his opening remarks, questioned a statement from Officer Harrity that he heard a thump right before the shooting. Mr Lofton said Mr Harrity never said anything at the scene about such a noise, instead mentioning it for the first time some days later in an interview with investigators.

Investigators found no forensic evidence to show Ms Damond had touched the squad car before she was shot, raising the possibility she had not slapped or hit it upon approaching the officers, Mr Lofton said.

Ms Damond, 40, was a life coach who was engaged to be married in a month when she was shot.

Justine Damond Ruszczyk and her fiance Don Damond lived together for two years before her death and were due to be married.

Noor is a Somali American whose arrival on the force just a couple of years earlier had been trumpeted by city leaders working to diversify the police force.

Noor’s attorneys have not said whether he will testify. If he does, prosecutors may be able to introduce evidence the defence wanted to keep out of the state’s case, including Noor refusing to talk to investigators. They also could bring up a 2015 psychological test that showed Noor disliked being around people and had difficulty confronting others. Despite that test, a psychiatrist found him fit to be a cadet officer.

The shooting raised questions about Noor’s training. The police chief defended Noor’s training, but the chief was forced to resign days later. The shooting also led to changes in the department’s policy on the use of body cameras.

Originally published as Jury hears Justine Damond’s call to police minutes before death