Minneapolis mayor is 'deeply disturbed' by fatal shooting of yoga teacher by police officer
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A yoga teacher and life coach who called 911 to report a possible assault in the alley near her home was shot and killed Saturday by a responding Minneapolis police officer who was not using a body camera.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said on Facebook that she was “heartsick and deeply disturbed” by the shooting and she has questions about why the officers had not turned on their body cams. Publications with stories include the Washington Post, the StarTribune and the New York Times.
According to the StarTribune, the officer who shot and killed 40-year-old Justine Damond joined the police department in March 2015. He was one of two officers in the squad car.
Sources told the StarTribune that Damond was wearing pajamas and speaking to officers by the driver’s side door of the squad car when one of the officers shot Damond through the door.
Damond had moved to Minneapolis from Australia to be with her fiancé and had taken his last name in advance of their planned marriage next month. She had originally trained to be a veterinarian and had attended the University of Sydney.
Story corrected at 1:35 p.m. to state in the first paragraph that officer was not using a body camera.
