Justine Damond's death 'should not have happened'

The fatal shooting of an Australian woman by a Minneapolis police officer "should not have happened", the city's police chief has said.
Justine Damond, originally from Sydney, was shot when she approached a police car after reporting a suspected rape.
A lawyer for Ms Damond's family has called it "ludicrous" to suggest the two officers inside feared an ambush.
Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau said the killing was the "the actions and judgement of one individual".
Officer Mohamed Noor, who shot Ms Damond in the abdomen in an upmarket neighbourhood of the city, has refused to be interviewed by investigators, as is his legal right.
"The actions in question go against who we are as a department, how we train and the expectations we have for our officers," Chief Harteau told reporters in Minneapolis.
"I want to assure Justine's family our community and those in Australia that I will do everything in my power to ensure due process is followed and justice is served."

Cameras 'should be active'

Body cameras, which are worn by all Minneapolis police, had not been turned onat the time of the shooting and the squad car dashboard camera also failed to capture the incident.
Chief Harteau said the cameras worn by Officers Noor and Matthew Harrity "should have been activated".
"An officer should have them on and that is what we are trying to identify," Chief Harteau said.
"We want to do everything we can in training and in our policy to ensure that they are put on before an officer arrives at the scene."
Fred Bruno, the lawyer for Officer Harrity has said: "It is reasonable to assume an officer in that situation would be concerned about a possible ambush."
However Robert Bennett, who represents Ms Damond's family, said the yoga instructor was in her pyjamas when she approached the police and "was not a threat to anyone".
Mr Bennett told CBS News: "I think that [the ambush fear] is ludicrous. It's disinformation. It doesn't have any basis in fact."
He added: "She obviously wasn't armed, was not a threat to anyone, and nor could she have reasonably been perceived to be."
On Thursday, a statement from Ms Damond's family said: "All we want to do is bring Justine home to Australia to farewell her in her hometown among family and friends.
"We are still trying to come to terms with this tragedy and we are struggling to understand how and why this could happen."

911 calls

On Wednesday, police released the transcript of two separate 911 calls Ms Damond made after hearing screams nearby.
"I'm not sure if she's having sex or being raped," she told the police operator, before giving her address.
"I think she just yelled out 'help', but it's difficult, the sound has been going on for a while," she continued.
Ms Damond called back eight minutes later to ensure police had the correct address.
Chief Harteau said she understood why the incident could make some people more reluctant to call 911.
"Although disheartening, I understand the fear and why it exists. This has had a negative impact on the community trust we have built," she said.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has said he will decide whether to charge the police officer.


by at No comments:

Strong earthquake kills two on Greek island of Kos

A strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea has killed at least two people on the Greek island of Kos, officials say.
The 6.7-magnitude quake hit 12km (seven miles) north-east of Kos, near the Turkish coast, with a depth of 10km, the US Geological Survey said.
Several others were injured on Kos, mayor George Kyritsis said.
A small tsunami was reported on the Turkish coast. Pictures on social media showed people walking with water lapping their ankles.

by at No comments:

Justine Damond: Minneapolis police 'heard loud sound' before shooting

A Minneapolis police officer whose partner shot an Australian woman was "startled by a loud sound" just before the incident, investigators say.
Justine Damond, originally from Sydney, was gunned down after calling police to report a possible crime.
On a police radio recording, an officer mentions fireworks being let off near where the shooting happened.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said he wants answers from the US over the killing.
"It is a shocking killing, and yes, we are demanding answers on behalf of her family," he told Australian TV.
The shooting occurred as 40-year-old Ms Damond, dressed in her pyjamas, approached the driver's side door to talk to the officer at the wheel after police arrived.
Officer Mohamed Noor, who was sitting in the passenger seat, fired his weapon across his partner and through the driver's side window, striking Ms Damond, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said.
Officer Noor has refused to speak to investigators and US authorities say they cannot compel him to give a statement.
But the BCA said that Officer Matthew Harrity, who was driving the car, had told investigators that Ms Damond had come towards the car immediately after he heard a loud sound.
After the shooting, the officers are heard on the police radio recording telling dispatchers they are performing CPR and that "no suspects are at large".
State investigators say the officers failed to activate their body or dashboard cameras and both officers have been placed on administrative leave.

Why weren't the cameras on?

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges and Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman have both raised this question.
Minneapolis police are required to switch on their body cameras only during certain encounters, unlike in Los Angeles or Washington DC, where cameras must be switched on for any response to a call for service.
Instead, there are more than a dozen situations in which cameras should be used, according to the police manual, which adds that failure to use the camera could result in job termination.
"If a BWC [body-worn camera] is not activated prior to a use of force, it shall be activated as soon as it is safe to do so," reads the manual.
Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau has described Ms Damond's death as "tragic" and called for a quick investigation to provide "transparency".
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has said he will personally decide whether to charge Officer Mohamed Noor, rather than put the question to a grand jury.
Officer Noor, who has been described by local media as a Somali-American, has been with the police force for two years.
A statement from his lawyer said he had arrived in the US "at a young age" and described him as "a caring person with a family he loves and he empathised with the loss others are experiencing".
Ms Damond, born Justine Ruszczyk, studied to be a veterinarian before relocating from Sydney to the US, where she is believed to have been for at least the last three years.
According to her website, she was a "qualified yoga instructor, a personal health and life coach and meditation teacher".
Speaking in Sydney, her father John Ruszczyk said: "Justine was a beacon to all of us, we only ask that the light of justice shine down on the circumstances of her death."
Ms Damond's death comes a year after Officer Jeronimo Yanez shot Philando Castile, a black man, during a traffic stop in St Paul - the twin city of Minneapolis - in an incident live-streamed on Facebook by his girlfriend.
Mr Castile had told the officer that he was licensed to carry a concealed weapon and was reaching for his wallet to get his driving licence out when he was shot, his girlfriend said on the video.
Officer Yanez was found not guilty of manslaughter last month - a verdict that Mr Castile's mother said showed the system "continued to fail black people".
On Wednesday morning, hundreds of people gathered for a dawn vigil at a Sydney beach to honour Ms Damond.
In silence, attendees including her family and friends lit candles and released pink flowers into the ocean.
"We are here to come together as a community around our beautiful Justine, to honour her life, share our love and mourn her death," Ms Damond's family said in a statement ahead of the vigil.


by at No comments:

Israeli steals Auschwitz items for student art project


An Israeli student whose grandparents survived the Holocaust has admitted stealing items from the Auschwitz death camp for her art project.
Rotem Bides visited the former Nazi German camp in Poland several times and removed items, including a sign forbidding people from taking anything.
She told an Israeli newspaper she had acted out of concern that the Holocaust would over time "turn into a myth".
The Auschwitz-Birkenau museum has demanded the objects' return.
More than a million people, mostly Jews, were killed at Auschwitz during World War Two.
The objects from Auschwitz, which also include shards of glass, small bowls, a metal screw and soil, formed part of the 27-year-old's final project in Jerusalem, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.
Ms Bides told the newspaper she felt it was "something I had to do".
"Millions of people were murdered based on the moral laws of a certain country, under a certain regime," she told the newspaper.
"And if these are the laws, I can go there and act according to my own laws.
"I'm not saying I'm allowed to do it because my grandfather was in Auschwitz. I'm simply asking the questions. I'm concerned that after all the survivors are gone, the Holocaust will turn into a myth, something that cannot be perceived."
Ms Vides's supervisor at Beit Berl College, the Israeli artist Michal Na'aman, told the newspaper she "did not see anything wrong with it".
"The way I see it, she succeeds in creating a unique encounter between art and an event that has passed and has been wrapped in a lot of words, symbols and representations," Ms Na'aman said.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau museum has described the objects' removal as "painful and outrageous" and demanded that the Israeli authorities ensure their return.
"It's hard to imagine theft being justified in any way, even through art, which can be seen as an attempt to gain publicity," it said in a statement.
Items have been stolen from Auschwitz in the past. In 2011 an Israeli local government official picked up several items that were lying on the ground next to a display cabinet but they were discovered by officials at Krakow airport.
Moti Posloshani, the son of Holocaust survivors, later told Yedioth Ahronoth that he had wanted to "safeguard" the objects and perhaps hand them to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem.
And in 2009 the infamous "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work makes you free" in German) sign over the entrance to Auschwitz was stolen by thieves but recovered shortly afterwards.

by at No comments:

Uruguay pharmacies start selling recreational marijuana

Uruguay has become the first country in the world to legally sell marijuana for recreational use.
Sixteen pharmacies started dispensing marijuana on Wednesday,
Almost 5,000 people have signed up to a national registry to be able to buy marijuana legally. They will be able to buy up to 10g (0.35oz) a week and no more than 40g a month.
The move comes four years after a law was passed which fully legalised the cannabis trade.
Supporters of the law argue that it will help stop the illegal trade in marijuana and put drug dealers out of business.
Customers will be able to choose from two varieties of marijuana dubbed Alpha 1 and Beta 1.
Both contain 2% Tetrahidrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of marijuana.
The price for five grams has been set at 187 Uruguayan pesos ($6.50; £5.00).
The marijuana sold at the pharmacies comes from state-supervised fields.
The law also allows users to grow their own at home or join co-operative clubs that farm it.
Officials said about 70% of people who had registered to buy marijuana from pharmacies where men, most of them aged between 30 and 44.
In order to avoid "marijuana tourism", only Uruguayan citizens and permanent residents are allowed to register.


by at No comments:

Saudi-led bloc modifies demands to end Qatar crisis


The four Arab nations leading a boycott of Qatar are no longer insisting it comply with a list of 13 specific demands they tabled last month.
Diplomats from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt told reporters at the UN they now wanted it to accept six broad principles.
These include commitments to combat terrorism and extremism and to end acts of provocation and incitement.
There was no immediate comment from Qatar, which denies aiding terrorists.
It has refused to agree to any measures that threaten its sovereignty or violate international law, and denounced the "siege" imposed by its neighbours.
The restrictions put in place six weeks ago have forced the gas-rich emirate to import food by sea and air to meet the basic needs of its population of 2.7 million.
At a briefing for a group of UN correspondents in New York on Tuesday, diplomats from the four countries said they wanted to resolve the crisis amicably.
Saudi permanent representative Abdullah al-Mouallimi said their foreign ministers had agreed the six principles at a meeting in Cairo on 5 July and that they "should be easy for the Qataris to accept".
They were combating terrorism and extremism, denying financing and safe havens to terrorist groups, stopping incitement to hatred and violence, and refraining from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, according to the New York Times.
Mr Mouallimi stressed that there would be "no compromise" on the principles, but added that both sides would be able to discuss how to implement them.
The list of 13 demands handed to Qatar on 22 June included shutting down the Al Jazeera news network, closing a Turkish military base, cutting ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and downgrading relations with Iran.
Mr Mouallimi said closing Al Jazeera might not be necessary but stopping incitement to violence and hate speech was essential.
US President Donald Trump was quick to claim credit for the pressure being placed on Qatar, saying it might mark the "beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism".
But his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, questioned the list of demands, acknowledging that some elements would "be very difficult for Qatar to meet".
Mr Tillerson conducted several days of shuttle diplomacy in the region last week and signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar on countering terrorism financing that Ms Hashimi called "an excellent step".


by at No comments:

Trump and Putin had another, undisclosed conversation at G20

US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had another, previously undisclosed conversation at this month's G20, the White House has confirmed.
They spoke towards the end of a formal dinner but the White House has not revealed what was discussed.
President Trump has condemned media revelations of the talks as "sick".
The two leaders' relationship is under scrutiny amid allegations of Russian interference in the US election.
US intelligence agencies believe Moscow tried to tip the election in Mr Trump's favour, something denied by Russia. Mr Trump has rejected allegations of any collusion.
The extra conversation happened during a private meal of heads of state at the G20 summit in Hamburg earlier in the month.
Mr Trump left his seat and headed to Mr Putin, who had been sitting next to Mr Trump's wife, Melania, US media said. The US president was alone with Mr Putin, apart from the attendance of the Russian president's official interpreter.
Mr Trump had been seated next to Japanese PM Shinzo Abe's wife, so the US interpreter at the dinner spoke Japanese, not Russian. No media were in attendance.

Analysis: Uncomfortable questions raised

Jonathan Marcus, BBC News defence and diplomatic correspondent
Given the poor state of relations between Washington and Moscow and the controversy surrounding Russia's efforts to interfere with the US presidential campaign, each and every encounter between Mr Putin and Mr Trump is bound to be carefully scrutinised.
Thus the apparently impromptu discussion between the two men at the G20 dinner inevitably raises many questions. What was President Trump seeking to do in approaching the Russian president? Were matters of substance discussed? If so, why was no formal note taken? And why did the US president have to rely upon a Russian official for translation?
This is all highly unusual, especially at a time when relations between the two countries are laden with so many problems.
Mr Trump also appeared unaware of another dimension - the message that his tete-a-tete would send to other leaders in the room, who must have watched the US president's gambit with some unease.
The length of the talks has been disputed.
Ian Bremmer, president of the US-based Eurasia Group, who first reported them in a newsletter to clients, said: "Donald Trump got up from the table and sat down with Putin for about an hour. It was very animated and very friendly."
No-one else was nearby, so the topics of discussion were not known, he said.
Mr Bremmer had not been at the dinner but said details were given to him by unnamed attendees who, he said, were "flummoxed, confused and startled" by the turn of events.
Mr Bremmer told Bloomberg he had never before seen "two major countries with a constellation of national interests that are as dissident while the two leaders seem to be doing everything possible to make nice-nice and be close to each other".
In a statement, a senior White House official said there was no "second meeting", just a brief conversation after dinner.
At the earlier, formal meeting, their first face-to-face encounter, Mr Trump said he had repeatedly pressed Mr Putin about the allegations of interference in the US vote.
"I said, 'Did you do it?' He said, 'No, I did not, absolutely not.' I then asked him a second time, in a totally different way. He said, 'Absolutely not.'"
There are congressional investigations, and one by a special counsel, into the allegations of Russian interference in the US election and possible collusion with the Trump team.
On Tuesday, the Senate intelligence committee said it wanted to interview Mr Trump's son, Donald Jr, and other members of the Trump team, over a meeting they had with a Russian lawyer in June last year.
Mr Trump Jr said he had attended the meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya as he was promised damaging material on Hillary Clinton, but it did not materialise.
On Wednesday, Ms Veselnitskaya told Russia's RT television channel she would be willing to testify before the Senate on the matter
Meanwhile, the White House said Mr Trump would nominate former Utah governor Jon Huntsman as ambassador to Russia, a key post for a president who promised to improve relations with Moscow.
Mr Huntsman, who served as ambassador to China and Singapore, needs to have his name confirmed by the Senate.
The suspicions over Russian interference are likely to play a significant factor in his confirmation process, correspondents say


by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Apple to scan iPhones for child sex abuse images

  Apple has announced details of a system to find child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on customers' devices. Before an image is stored on...