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posted by martyb on Saturday July 22 2017, @12:17PM   Printer-friendly
from the turning-of-the-tide? dept.

The New York Times

The Minneapolis police chief, Janee Harteau, resigned on Friday at the mayor’s request, less than a week after one of the city’s officers fatally shot an unarmed Australian woman who had called 911 for help.

Mayor Betsy Hodges said in a statement that “I’ve lost confidence in the chief’s ability to lead us further” and that “it is clear that she has lost the confidence of the people of Minneapolis as well.”
...
At a press conference on Friday night about the chief’s departure, protesters interrupted Ms. Hodges and called on her to resign, as well. “Bye, bye, Betsy,” they chanted when she tried to continue speaking.

The Washington Post

Minneapolis chief of police Janeé Harteau resigned Friday, forced out by the city’s mayor nearly a week after a police officer fatally shot an Australian woman who had called 911.

The case has drawn international scrutiny and criticism, and highlighted the limitations of police-worn body cameras.

Mayor Betsy Hodges, who has previously called the lack of body-camera footage of the shooting “unacceptable,” said in a statement, “I’ve lost confidence in the Chief’s ability to lead us further.”
...
The mayor has been sharply critical of the fact that even though every patrol officer in Minneapolis wears a body camera, neither officer present when Damond was fatally shot late Saturday activated his, preventing authorities from having potentially key footage of what happened.

“We have put too much time, money, and effort into them to have them fail us when we needed them most,” Hodges wrote of the body cameras. “That cannot happen again.”
...
Harteau is at least the fourth chief of a major police department forced out in recent years amid controversy over a deadly police shooting or a fatal encounter with officers.

The fatal shooting has provoked international outrage and continued to resonate in Australia. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called it “a shocking killing” and said Australian officials are seeking closure for her family.

I feel something is wrong if police and city officials need Australians to be shot to start cleaning their act.

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Background - The Guardian:

Damond, 40, called police after hearing a possible sexual assault taking place in an alley behind her Minneapolis home in what has been described as the safe, middle-class neighbourhood of Fulton.

The police audio begins with the description of a “female screaming behind the building”, believed to be what Damond told the dispatcher in her initial 911 call.

Damond, dressed in her pyjamas, reportedly approached the driver’s side window of the police car when it arrived in the alley and an officer shot across his partner at Damond more than once from the passenger seat.
...
The Washington Post reported Damond is one of at least 524 people fatally shot by police in the US this year and and the fifth in Minnesota.

The Minneapolis-St Paul area is still reeling from the acquittal last month of a police officer who shot dead a man, Philando Castile, during a traffic stop while Castile’s girlfriend livestreamed the horrifying incident.


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  • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 23 2017, @02:32AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 23 2017, @02:32AM (#543232)

    Another poster showed that the Minneapolis department has a history of failing to do background checks. This incident would have been prevented by a simple background check. Even a shallow one would have identified him as a moslem which would have been more than enough to disqualify him from employment on the police force or even possessing a firearm.

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