US cop recalls how he saw Justine Damond’s body in well-enough lit alley near her home in US
This is the alley where Australian woman Justine Ruszczyk Damond died after being shot dead by Mohamed Noor — and a US cop has revealed what he saw as he got to the scene.
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When homicide chief Rick Zimmerman arrived at the alley where Justine Ruszczyk Damond died after being shot dead by a Minneapolis police officer, he couldn’t hide his shock at what he saw.
On the ground under a sheet, with a glittery gold mobile phone at her feet, the slight 40-year-old Australian lay close to a squad car, its engine running, the passenger door open and lights ablaze.
But what he couldn’t see anywhere, was the weapon that prompted Mohamed Noor to shoot Ms Damond in what he claims was self-defence.
“My first thought, frankly, was ‘what the f**k’. Why isn’t there something here,” a baffled Lt Zimmerman said in court yesterday.
“I saw the cellphone. I was obviously looking for a weapon.”
Also yesterday, body camera footage from one of the first officers on the scene after Damond was shot revealed the chaotic emergency worker response and the last moments of her life.
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As emergency workers performed CPR on Damond, several could be heard saying they don’t know “what the hell” is going on.
A 25-minute video clip recorded by patrolman Scott Aiken from the moment he and partner Jesse Lopez responded to a report of “shots fired” just after 11.30pm on July 15, 2017, shows in harrowing detail their approach, under lights and sirens, and their arrival at the
alley where efforts were being made to revive Damond.
After they parked and Aiken was making his way along the south Minneapolis street towards a cluster of emergency workers, voices could be heard saying “stay with us”, repeatedly.
“There you go, there you go, take a breathe,” a voice urges, as footage shows emergency workers performing CPR.
The paramedics work for several more minutes, but were unable to save Damond.
“I have no f**king clue, but she’s gone. They called it,” said one first responder.
Separate footage captured Noor in the moments after he realised Damond had died. Stunned and rubbing his head, the 33 year old replied “yeah”, when asked “(are you) all right, kiddo” by Officer Lopez.
Mr Lopez was then recorded telling Noor — who has pleaded not guilty to murder charges over the July 2017 killing but never explained his actions — to “keep your mouth shut”.
“Just keep to yourself,” the veteran officer said, adding Noor didn’t “have to say anything to anybody”.
When asked by prosecutors why he issued that advice, Mr Lopez said it was to legally protect Noor.
Damond’s family, who were seated in the front of the public gallery, shook their heads and sighed as the evidence was given.
Earlier, her father John Ruszczyk, was in court as the final moments of her life were shown. Damond’s fiance Don Damond and her brother Jason left the court before the footage was played.
Damond, 40, was wearing a pale pink T-shirt with a picture of a mother and baby koala printed on the front when she approached the squad car driven by Officer Matthew Harrity after calling 911 for help late on a summer Saturday night.
Noor’s defence has argued Damond slapped the back of the pair’s Ford Explorer, scaring them and leading them to think they were in a “classic ambush” situation to which Noor’s rightfully reacted by opening fire.
The prosecution appears to be trying to build the argument that the street was well-enough lit for Noor to have recognised Damond was not a threat, with prosecutor Amy Sweasey asking Officer Aiken several questions about how dark it was when he arrived.
“The street lights were on but it was dark,” Aitken said.
“You could see passably. You could make out faces.”
When Ms Sweasey asked: “Could you tell the difference between firefighters and paramedics, just by looking at them?”, the officer replied that he could.
Lt Zimmerman agreed the crime scene, which was under a street-light above the pair’s patrol car, was well illuminated.
“I could see all the officers that were there, I could see the victim just as I’m looking at you right now,” he said.
“I didn’t need a flashlight or anything.”
He spoke extensively about how concerned he was about the fact Damond was unarmed.
“When you go to a death scene and you see a body laying there you look to try to make sense,” he said.
“Why is the body laying there? How did the body come be there? You are looking for things that add up and when something doesn’t something add up it doesn’t make sense to me. That was my first thought.”
He also expressed concern that some initial officers at the scene appeared to cast and dismiss Damond as “drunk or high” when there was nothing to suggest that was the case.
Medical examiner Dr Lorre Jackson said on Wednesday that forensic tests showed there was no alcohol or drugs of any kind in Damond’s system when she died.
“The results were negative across the board,” he said of toxicology tests performed.
Noor’s partner, Officer Matthew Harrity, is expected to testify in coming days at the jury trial, which is scheduled to last three to four weeks.
Originally published as US cop recalls how he saw Justine Damond’s body in well-enough lit alley near her home in US
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