Nation & World Glance
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police Chief Janee Harteau resigned Friday at the request of the mayor, who said she lost confidence in the chief following last week’s shooting death of an unarmed Australian woman by a police officer.
In a statement released Friday, Harteau said: “I’ve decided I am willing to step aside to let a fresh set of leadership eyes see what more can be done for the MPD to be the very best it can be.”
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said she asked for the chief’s resignation.
“I’ve lost confidence in the Chief’s ability to lead us further ... it is clear that she has lost the confidence of the people of Minneapolis as well,” Hodges said. “For us to continue to transform policing — and community trust in policing — we need new leadership at MPD.”
Harteau, who worked her way up from the bottom of the department to police chief, said she was proud of the work she accomplished and honored to serve as chief, but the shooting of 40-year-old Justine Damond by one of her officers and other incidents “have caused me to engage in deep reflection.”
KOS, Greece — A powerful earthquake shook beach resorts Friday in Greece and Turkey, killing two tourists crushed when a building collapsed on a bar in the Greek island of Kos and injuring nearly 500 others across the Aegean Sea region.
Only a few miles apart, Kos and the Turkish resort of Bodrum were hit hours before dawn by the shallow undersea quake that caused a two-foot (0.6-meter) sea swell and havoc among residents and thousands of vacationers at bars and restaurants.
The U.S. Geological survey measured the quake as being of magnitude 6.7, with Greek and Turkish estimates a fraction lower.
“It was shocking, terrifying,” Kos resident Vassilis Megas told The Associated Press. “The whole house shook back and forth. People ran out into streets. We did too, and stayed out all night.”
Two men — from Turkey and Sweden — were killed when a collapsing wall smashed into White Corner Club, a popular a bar in the Old Town of Kos. Several others were seriously injured and airlifted to larger hospitals in Greece — one person had to have a leg amputated and another had lifethreatening head injuries, doctors said.