No decision on charging officer over killing

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota prosecutor said Thursday that he needs more time to decide whether to charge a police officer who fatally shot an Australian after she called 911 for help.

Minneapolis Officer Mohamed Noor shot 40-year-old life coach Justine Ruszczyk Damond on July 15, just minutes after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home.

Her death drew international attention, cost Minneapolis’s then-police chief her job and forced major revisions to the police department’s policy on body cameras.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman had promised a decision by year’s end.

But on Thursday, he said his office was “getting more information and evidence, and additional investigation must be completed.”

“The investigation and review of the case will not be rushed,” he said in a statement.

Freeman set no new timetable for a charging decision. His statement said he had spoken with Damond’s family to inform them of the delay. The announcement came two weeks after Freeman was captured on video at a holiday reception saying investigators hadn’t brought him enough evidence to warrant charging the officer.

Noor has not spoken publicly about the case. The officer also declined to speak with state investigators.

Noor’s police partner, Matthew Harrity, told investigators he was startled by a loud noise right before Damond approached the driver’s side window of their police SUV.

Harrity, who was driving, said Noor then fired his weapon from the passenger seat, shooting Damond.

Damond, who was engaged to be married, died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

The officers didn’t turn on their body cameras until after the shooting, and there was no squad camera video of the incident.

The lack of video was widely criticized.