Police Claim Damond ‘Ambushed’ Cops-Unarmed in Pajamas-Family Blasts it as ‘Disinformation’

While the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is still conducting its investigation into Saturday’s fatal shooting of a beloved mother and life coach Justine Damond, sources close to the investigation are now saying Officer Mohamed Noor and Matthew Harrity believed they were being ambushed. But the attorney for Damond’s family isn’t buying that explanation.

Officer Noor shot and killed Damond from the passenger seat of his cruiser, firing over his partner, and through the driver’s side window striking Damond in the abdomen, killing her. To date, neither officer has spoken with the press, and Noor has reportedly refused to speak with BCA investigators. Neither officer’s body camera was recording at the time and the shooting was said not to have been captured by the cruiser’s dashcam — because it was off too.

The notion the officers believed they were being ambushed by Damond was quickly rejected by the Damond family’s lawyer, Robert Bennet. “She obviously wasn’t armed, was not a threat to anyone, and nor could she have reasonably perceived to be,” he said.

“I think that’s ludicrous,” Bennett said adding, “It’s disinformation … it doesn’t have any basis in fact.”

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“The person who called 911 was shot in her pajamas.”

On Wednesday, KTSP reporters would not reveal who it was making the ambush defense claims, but on Thursday, the Associated Press confirmed the person asserting the ambush claim to be Harrity’s lawyer, Fred Bruno.

Bruno said for his client to have perceived himself to be caught in an ambush was “certainly reasonable.”

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“It was only a few weeks ago when a female NYPD cop and mother of twins was executed in her car in a very similar scenario,” Bruno said.

The ambush defense appears to be the one lawyers will contend as the justification for shooting an unarmed pajama wearing mother who, herself, called 911. Such a defense would allow both officers to claim they were in “fear for their lives,” but such a claim may not hold up in court if cell phone footage of the incident is presented.

On Thursday, the Associated Press reported a bicyclist was passing by at the time of the shooting and captured the entire aftermath, where officers reportedly administered CPR for four minutes. That footage has not yet been made public but it may reveal interesting details about the fateful night in question; the position of the police cruiser, the response by the officers, and any fireworks reported to have been exploding.

Also acknowledged, was the fact Officer Noor had his handgun in his lap, out of his holster, and in the cocked and loaded position when Damond knocked on the driver’s side window.

While die-hard defenders of police tactics may believe it is perfectly reasonable for an officer to be prepared to shoot at all times, we at The Free Thought Project have expressed the inherent dangers of keeping one’s finger on the trigger.

In a recent publication, we detailed one citizen’s concern the public might be at risk if cops keep their guns in their hands while they’re in their vehicle conducting police investigations. Now, it seems, those fears have been realized with the taking of Damond’s life.

READ MORE:  Audio Released of Cops Who Turned Off Body Cams And Killed Justine Damond

In a statement to the media this week, the family said they are asking for people to respect their privacy.

“Our family thank you for your interest in the story of our beloved Justine, whom we lost so tragically last weekend,” their statement read.

“We are still trying to come to terms with this tragedy and we are struggling to understand how and why this could happen. These are very early days and the family, in Australia and in the USA are devastated by our loss.

“We are in constant contact with the Australian Government, and representatives of the US Government and Minnesota State authorities. We want to see the investigation come to a conclusion, as soon as possible, so we have some resolution to the tragedy.

“All we want to do is bring Justine home to Australia to farewell her in her hometown among family and friends. In the meantime, we ask that you give us time to grieve in private and to support each other at this very difficult time.

“We will be in touch with you as soon as we feel, as a family, that the time is right to have further discussions with you. Again, we thank you for respecting our privacy.”

Audio Released of Cops Who Turned Off Body Cams And Killed Justine Damond

Minneapolis, MN — New details are emerging about the tragic shooting of Justine Damond, an Australian yoga teacher and spiritual healer, by Officer Mohamed Noor. The Free Thought Project has learned that Noor had a history of complaints against him, neither he nor his partner chose to activate their body cameras before the shooting, and the audio from the radio dispatch has been released capturing Damond’s final moments on earth.

Officer Noor, who was sitting in the passenger seat of his patrol car at the time, opened fire through the driver’s side door hitting Damond at least once in the abdomen. Noor and his partner were responding to her 911 call about a possible sexual assault.

Police have yet to release any reason for Noor, who joined the force in 2015, to have opened fire as Damond was unarmed.

Witnesses told The Star Tribune that Damond, wearing pajamas, was speaking to officer Matthew Harrity, 25, through the driver-side window of the police cruiser when Noor, sitting in the passenger’s seat, shot Damond through the driver-side door.

Noor’s partner was allegedly “stunned” when Noor opened fire, KARE11 reported through a source.

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Conveniently, for the officers involved in the shooting, it was revealed on Monday that neither of them had activated their body cameras. The dashcam, we are told, was not recording any video footage either.

Since 2016, Minneapolis has required all officers to wear and activate body cameras “at all times when they could reasonably anticipate that they may become involved in a situation for which activation is appropriate,” as noted by HuffPo.

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But these officers conveniently managed to turn off both of their body cameras and the dashcam before entering the alleyway in response to Damond’s call about an alleged sexual assault taking place behind her home.

While police have been shamefully tight-lipped on the killing of an innocent unarmed mother, they did release audio of the conversation between the officers and dispatch immediately following Noor’s shots.

In the audio, one officer can be heard saying he sees a ‘female screaming behind a building’ after the shots were fired.

“Shots fired … we have one down,” an officer is heard calmly telling dispatch after Noor had shot Damond to death behind her home.

The conversation continues as Damond bleeds out in one of the safest neighborhoods in town — killed by those who are ostensibly sworn to protect.

Attorney Thomas Plunkett said in a statement that Noor “takes these events very seriously.”

“He joined the police force to serve the community and to protect the people he serves,” Plunkett said. “Officer Noor is a caring person with a family he loves, and he empathizes with the loss others are experiencing.”

However, it has since come to light that Noor had multiple complaints against him prior to killing Damond. One of the complaints is still open.

The open federal investigation into Noor stems from a former social worker from Minneapolis who says Noor and other officers violated her constitutional rights in March by ordering her detention at a hospital after she called 911 to report a drug crime and other issues.

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Damond had also called 911 to report a crime, she was not fortunate enough, however, to file a complaint against Noor.

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“We lost the dearest of people and are desperate for information,” Damond’s fiancé, Don Damond, said Monday, according to the Star Tribune, in his first public comments. “Piecing together Justine’s last moments before the homicide would provide small comfort as we grieve this tragedy.”

Sadly, it appears that this small comfort may be a long way away.