Our community is grieving as another person has been shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer.
On July 15, 2017, a woman living in South Minneapolis, having called 911 at around 11:30 p.m. for assistance, met the squad car at the end of the alley on W. 51st street. The unarmed woman, wearing her pajamas because it was late at night, went to the driver’s side door of the squad car and was talking to the driver when the police officer in the passenger seat shot her. She was from Australia and living in the neighborhood.
Update: Mayor Hodges ‘deeply disturbed’ by officer-involved shooting of woman in Minneapolis https://t.co/wtpVuMnDyL pic.twitter.com/wT3UwUcErR
— Star Tribune (@StarTribune) July 17, 2017
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is investigating this fatal shooting.
According to a Sunday BCA press release, the investigation is in its early stages and more information will be released “once initial interviews with incident participants and any witnesses are complete.”
In addition:
“The officers’ body cameras were not turned on at the time and the squad camera did not capture the incident.”
Mayor Betsy Hodges has stated that she wants to know why the bodycams were not on. She speaks for many of us who are shocked and deeply saddened by this latest fatal shooting of an unarmed person.
After the investigation is complete, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office will review the evidence to determine if criminal charges will be filed against one or both of the officers involved in the shooting.
As part of the legal community, we urge the BCA and the County Attorney’s Office to be absolutely transparent about the investigation and all legal actions taken in this case.
After the officer who shot Philando Castile was found not guilty on July 16, 2017, there has been an increased tension in Minneapolis. The police department and Hennepin County officials need to assure the citizens with an aggressive search for the truth and, if warranted by the evidence, a fair trial, that justice will be done.
In the Philando Castile case, although there was not a guilty verdict in the criminal case, the family obtained a $3 million settlement from St. Anthony, the Twin Cities suburb that had hired Jeronimo Yanez. The settlement was reached to avoid a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court based on the alleged use of excessive force.
Stand up against excessive force by police.
