‘Hostile’ cop in Justine Damond case slammed

One of the first police officers on the scene after Australian woman Justine Damond was shot has been attacked in court for not recording her conversation with the alleged shooter.

The first commander in charge of the scene where unarmed Australian woman Justine Ruszczyk Damond was killed has been slammed in court by prosecutors for not recording her conversations with Mohamed Noor, the officer who shot her.

In heated testimony on Tuesday local time, Minneapolis Sgt Shannon Barnette - who is being treated as a hostile witness and has refused to cooperate with the state in its pursuit of Noor - was accused of trying to cover up evidence and of inventing excuses for Noor’s actions.

Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor is on trial over the death of Justine Damond. Picture: AP

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Noor, 33, is arguing self defense at his murder trial, now in its third week, with his lawyers claiming that he was startled by Ms Damond “slapping” or making a loud noise on the back of his squad car, leading him to think he was in a “classic ambush”.

Prosecutors said Barnette, who was in charge of the surburban crime scene for several hours after Ms Damond was killed in July 2017, selectively turned her body camera off and on, possibly to protect Noor and his then partner, Officer Matthew Harrity.

In one of several clips showed to the court, Harrity can be heard telling Barnette: “She just came out of nowhere, on the side of the thing and we both got spooked. I had my gun out. I didn’t fire.”

Under questioning, Barnette admitted that the issue of a “slap” was not initially raised by Noor or Harrity.

“So that was something you assumed and threw into this investigation somehow?” asked prosecutor Amy Sweasey.

“Is it wrong to pass along assumptions?”

Barnette replied: “Not necessarily”.

Justine Damond’s fiance Don, speaking to her dad John, has been in court for proceedings. Picture: Angus Mordant

There was no audio recording of Barnette’s conversations with the rookie officers and she kept limited written records of what they discussed.

Ms Sweasey read from Barnette’s statement to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the state agency that took over the investigation in the early hours of the morning after Ms Damond, 40, was killed, which recounted a conversation with Harrity.

“Sarge is she going to be ok?,” Harrity asked Barnette several times, according to the statement.

She replied: “I’m not going to be worried about that right now. I’m worried about you.”

In another clip of body camera video shown to the court, Noor was seen raising his arm and possibly mimicking a shot while talking to Barnette, but she said in court she had no recollection of what he said.

“When you asked him how he was, in response he raised his left arm and pointed it toward the window,” Sweasey asked Barnette.

“I don’t know why he lifted his arms,” Barnette answered.

Justine and Don Damond. Picture: Nathan Edwards

Noor has refused to explain his actions in shooting Ms Damond during a 911 call and it is not clear if he will testify at his trial. Harrity is expected to to take the stand in coming days.

Barnette also confirmed in court that she had several follow-up conversations with Harrity after the shooting and that in one of these he said Ms Damond had a “stunned look on her face and then he heard a noise and then Noor shot her.”

Barnette’s credibility was attacked for inconsistencies between her evidence to a grand jury and what she was stating in court.

She has also been criticized for dismissing Ms Damond as “probably a drunk or a drug addict”, after she died. Medical examiner evidence last week confirmed there was no alcohol or drugs of any kind in Ms Damond’s system.

Women at a march in honour of Justine Damond in Minneapolis. Picture: AP

Earlier on Tuesday, Deputy Chief Kathy Waite, who was then a police inspector and was one of the supervisors on the scene after Ms Damond was shot, said she was unhappy with elements of the initial investigation.

Waite criticized the decision by firefighters who covered Ms Damond’s body with a sheet, potentially impacting evidence, and said she was “frustrated” by the decision of BCA investigators to release the squad car to the Minneapolis police force after limited on-site forensic testing.

There were no fingerprints or DNA evidence to show Ms Damond touched the car, but prosecutors have been critical of the decision to not impound the car for more fulsome tests.

The jury trial, before Henepin County Judge Kathryn Quaintance, continues.