Why Didn’t the Officers Turn On Their Body Cameras?

Minnesotans are waiting for answers concerning a fatal police shooting in Minneapolis that claimed the life of an Australian woman who was preparing to be married to a Minneapolis man next month.

Rochester Police Chief Roger Peterson, during his most recent appearance with Rich Peterson and Kim David on KROC-AM, suggested the wait for those answers could be frustratingly long.

40-year-old Justine Damond, who had already begun using her future husband's last name, were shot in the abdomen after she approached a Minneapolis police squad car in the dark alley behind her home after she called 911 late in the night of July 15th to report a possible sexual assault. The gunshot the killed the woman was fired by Officer Mohamed Noor from the passenger seat of the police vehicle through the driver's side window. That information was provided by his partner, Officer Michael Harrity, who told investigators the shot was fired seconds after the two officers were startled by a loud noise and the woman approached the driver side of the squad car.

So far, Officer Noor has declined requests to be interviewed by investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

In the video at the top of this post, Chief Peterson explains why investigators cannot force the officer to give a statement, and discusses some of the possible reasons the two officers did not activate their body cameras or the squad car dash camera prior to the deadly shooting.