MINNEAPOLIS
– Family, residents and this city's mayor are demanding to know why a woman was
fatally shot by a police officer over the weekend and why the officer's
body
camera was off at the time, reports CBS Minneapolis.
"I mean
ask anybody here, they're shocked," said Corey Birkholz, a student of
Justine Damond, a south Minneapolis woman who taught meditation classes and
spiritual healing at the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community. "It doesn't
seem like she'd be the kind of person to get shot in an alley," Birkholz
said.
His feelings
were shared by more than 200 people who gathered for a vigil Sunday near the
spot where Damond died hours earlier.
"A
woman who you met her -- was just peaceful," a neighbor at the vigil said.
Investigators
with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said that at around 11:30 p.m.
Saturday, a 911 call was made about a possible assault in the area.
They said a
Minneapolis police officer fired his or her weapon, killing a woman.
A man
claiming to be Damond's son said in a Facebook video that she's the one who
called 911 after hearing a noise in the alley near their home.
"She
thought something bad was happening and next thing I know, they take my best
friend's life," the man, named Zach, said in the video.
© CBS
Minneapois minneapolis-vigil-justine-damond-071617.jpg
Investigators
said the officers involved had body cameras, but they weren't turned on.
"I
don't know anything about the law or police work to that extent but to me, it
seems really stupid. You have a body camera, aren't you supposed to use
them?" asked a visibly upset and confused Birkholz asked.
Minneapolis
Mayor Betsy Hodges voiced similar sentiments at a news conference, saying,
"I share the same questions other people have about why we don't have body
camera footage of it, and I hope to get answers to that in the days
coming."
Investigators
said the squad car video was on but didn't capture what happened at the scene.
The detectives said they're trying to figure out if any video evidence of what
happened exists.
As the
grieving community in south Minneapolis waited for answers and more information
on the incident, they also focused on honoring Damond.
According to
her website, Damond moved to Minneapolis from Sydney, Australia. The former
veterinarian became a yoga instructor, personal health and life coach and
meditation teacher.
Neighbors
and friends described her as an animal lover, a mother and a warm spirit ready
to help others.
Birkholz
said through her classes, Damond could help people work their way through
illnesses and other life problems with the help of meditation.
"A very
conscious, loving person and you wouldn't associate that with a gunshot in an
alley," he said.
The two
officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, which is
standard procedure.
CNBC News*
0 Comments