MN - Justine Damond, 40, fatally shot by Minneapolis LE, 15 July 2017 #2

[Jax49]

Lawyers of cop who shot dead Australian woman in US want charges dismissed

Defence attorneys want charges dismissed against a former Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed an Australian woman last year.

Attorneys for ex-officer Mohamed Noor argue in motions filed today that the charges should be dropped because of prosecutorial misconduct and lack of probable cause.

A hearing on the motions is scheduled for September 27.

 

[K_Z]

Court Documents: Prosecutors Say Noor Showed a Reckless Disregard For Human Life

** Defense attorneys Motion to Dismiss charges, and lengthy Prosecutors Response both embedded in this ^^^ article.

Also, I think it's very important to remember as one reads the training report comments in the articles below, and the court filings, that Mohamed Noor was an "accelerated" process hire under a diversity program, and was very publicly lauded by the former Mayor for being the first Somali MPD officer.

Prosecutors are pointing to past incidents in former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor’s law enforcement career as well as his pre-hiring psychological evaluations in their effort to keep a judge from dismissing the murder and manslaughter charges against him in the 2017 shooting death of Justine Damond.

“The defendant’s actions showed a reckless disregard for human life and the evidence of his recklessness more than meets the standard for probable cause,” prosecutors allege in court documents.

There were also several incidents during Noor’s training to become a police officer where his field training officers noted issues.

On February 20, 2016, a field training officer wrote in their evaluation “the higher level of stress, the more Noor focuses on one thing and misses other things, like radio transmissions or acknowledging dispatch,” the court documents read.

On March 31, 2016 a field training officer said Noor had “tunnel vision” as he drove, although the training is intended to to teacher an officer to always be “scanning and looking and checking things.” The officer said Noor’s tunnel vision while driving was so bad they had to “yell at him to snap out of it.”

During one of his final days of training on April 8, 2016, Noor’s field training officer said Noor did not want to take calls at times and ignored pending calls when he could have self-assigned to them, including simple calls an officer working alone could easily handle.

Prosecutors also pointed to Noor’s pre-hiring psychological evaluation in 2015, which consisted of an interview and an MMPI test, arguing it "best illustrates his indifference for human life which led to his actions on July 15, 2017."

Prosecutors: Mohamed Noor's work history shows 'reckless disregard for human life'

Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor concerned psychiatrists and training officers about his fitness for duty long before he fatally shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond, new court records show.

Noor was flagged by two psychiatrists during the pre-hiring evaluation in early 2015 after he exhibited an inability to handle the stress of regular police work and unwillingness to deal with people, according to the records.

The report went on to say that Noor was more likely than other police candidates to become impatient with others over minor infractions, have trouble getting along with others, to be more demanding and have a limited social support network. They showed he "reported disliking people and being around them." And yet, since Noor exhibited no signs of a major mental illness, chemical dependence or personality disorder, he was deemed "psychiatrically fit to work as a cadet police officer for the Minneapolis Police Department," the filing said.

Filing: Aimed gun at driver's head

Roughly two months before the shooting, Noor put a gun to the head of a motorist pulled over for a minor traffic stop, according to the prosecution filing.

Noor stopped his squad on 24th Street west of Nicollet Avenue and got out "with his gun pulled and pointed downward," the court document read, citing squad car video. "When the defendant approached the driver's side of the stopped car, the first thing he did was point his gun at the driver's head."

Filing: Mohamed Noor raised red flags among psychiatrists, training officers

Red flags had been raised about Minneapolis officer who shot and killed Justine Damond – Twin Cities

Records: Cop accused in Australian's death can't take stress

 

[PrairieWind]

Wow, that is some pretty disturbing psychiatric evidence there. Most disturbing to me was the part about him becoming impatient with people in minor offenses. An officer needs to be able to put up with a lot of crap from people and be very patient with people, especially in minor offense situations. Defuse situations, not let them escalate and certainly not escalate them himself.

 

[jjenny]

Being a cop is a great job for someone who doesn't like to deal with people and can't handle stress.
(obviously being sarcastic here).

 

[K_Z]

So, a couple of thoughts and questions come to mind.

1. Prosecutors response (linked above) reveals Mohamed Noor had worked a full 8 hour shift as a security guard for Wells Fargo Bank, immediately before beginning his 4:15pm to 2:15 am shift with the Minneapolis PD.

Is this permissible for all MPD officers?

Are there any “crew rest” requirements for officers before beginning their shift?

Are they permitted to work 16+ hour shifts while on duty as MPD officers?

2. Noor was known to have a number of behavioral responses to stress (detailed in the Prosecutor’s Response linked above) that would have been exacerbated by essentially pulling a 16 hour duty day.

Was Noor ever formally counseled about his own response to duty stressors?

What specific steps did he, or MPD take to mitigate Noor’s unusual “stress responses” to ordinary and extraordinary duty situations?

3. Is Noor’s hiring trajectory “typical” of other officer candidates who dislike people in general, and have the serious behavioral responses to duty events that Noor did?

(Driving in circles, tunnel vision focus, inability to multi task, escalating minor encounters, failure to follow through with various aspects of the job, etc.)?

Or was Noor given some kind of leeway that other officer candidates would NOT have been given, so as to assure his hiring process went smoothly?

4. Were all Noor’s very serious behavioral issues and performance issues officially “overlooked” because it was MORE important that he be hired and publicly lauded for his role fulfilling “diversity” on the force?

Because that’s exactly how it looks from where I’m sitting. “Diversity” was clearly MUCH more important in the hiring process than COMPETENCE.

5. Noor was lauded quite publicly by the Mayor, and others, as the first Somali officer in the 5th precinct. Several lauded his role as a police officer as a “calling”! (From a candidate who openly admitted to an employment psychiatrist to disliking most people??)

The bizarre psychological behaviors, difficulties interacting with people, serious difficulties while on supervised patrol as a cadet, and the extremely disturbing events 2 weeks before Damond’s shooting where he pointed his gun at the head of a motorist after pulling him over for a minor traffic violation?

How can that effusive praise be reconciled with the extreme details of we now know was in his hiring and performance file?

What we know about Mohamed Noor, Minneapolis officer who fatally shot Justine Damond

 

[Gardenista]

Whoever is in charge of that PD needs to be fired. What a disaster.

 

[K_Z]

Whoever is in charge of that PD needs to be fired. What a disaster.

The former police chief, Janee Harteau, was fired by former Minneapolis Mayor, Betsy Hodges less than a week after Justine Damond's shooting.

Minneapolis Police Chief Forced Out After Fatal Shooting of Australian Woman

FWIW, I strongly supported Chief Harteau, and believe her firing was both unjustified, and another opportunistic and vindictive action by former Mayor Hodges.

This is what both women, who were adversaries their entire working relationship, are up to today.

Former Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau announced Tuesday that she will join Vitals, a company that offers a smartphone app designed to help police officers deal with vulnerable people.

Harteau was named the company’s chief public safety strategist and charged with overseeing the app’s rollout in Minnesota.

The app is aimed at various groups who have “invisible disabilities” and can’t always communicate effectively in potentially dangerous encounters with police, according to company officials. That includes people with autism spectrum disorder, dementia, post-traumatic stress disorder, other mental health issues, diabetes and seizure disorders.

E-mails obtained through a data practices request show that she was approached about police jobs in Portland, Ore. and Dallas shortly before her resignation, but Harteau hadn’t publicly discuss her future plans since.

Former Minneapolis Police Chief Harteau takes advisory role with app to help vulnerable in police encounters

The former Mayor, Betsy Hodges, was defeated in the following election. She has been rewarded for her views and ideas with a semester long "come and hang out" invitation at Harvard University, where she will "regularly interact with students" and share her ideas about race and policing.

Former Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges to spend a semester at Harvard

 

[jjenny]

Being a cop is a stressful job that involves dealing with a lot of people. Someone who is evaluated as unable to handle stress and unwilling to deal with people should have presumably been deemed as unsuitable for the job. Yet that didn't happen and he was allowed to police the streets while armed. So the outcome (Justine killed) wasn't exactly unpredictable.

 

[K_Z]

Being a cop is a stressful job that involves dealing with a lot of people. Someone who is evaluated as unable to handle stress and unwilling to deal with people should have presumably been deemed as unsuitable for the job. Yet that didn't happen and he was allowed to police the streets while armed. So the outcome (Justine killed) wasn't exactly unpredictable.

Absolutely this was predictable.

So the crucial question is, how many OTHER recruits (fast track or regular process), have thoroughly unsuitable behavioral and personality traits identified by trainers and psychiatrists that are similar to MN's, and were hired anyway?

The answer should be "ZERO". If the answer is more than zero:

"WHY" are we hiring ANY candidates documented to have such exceptionally poor behavioral and personality traits? Who, precisely, is responsible for this decision?

These questions need to be asked very publicly, and very persistently, of the new Mayor, City Council, and new Police Chief. By the media, as well as private citizens.

These officials need to be on the record as to their ideas and opinions about hiring police candidates with exceptionally poor interpersonal skills, "avoidance" habits, and personality traits that are not a good fit with policing.

The answer to "why" cannot continue to be "for diversity" when behavioral competence is essential, and lives are at stake. Apparently no one in the hiring process was willing to put together the "big picture" of MN's documented psych deficits, poor interpersonal skills, and "work avoidance" behaviors to render a verdict of "not qualified". Why?

This is a systemic problem, IMO. Many layers.

Was the mayor's office pressure for "diversity hiring" in the MPD, at all costs, simply too great for anyone to stand up to? I think that is exactly what happened. Diversity was clearly more important in the hiring process than competence. That should deeply concern every citizen.

Minneapolis will end up paying out millions upon millions to Justine Damond's family before this is concluded. And those millions come from the pockets of taxpayers.

 

[K_Z]

Mohamed Noor's attorneys filed a response to Prosecutor's response today, and are predictably very unhappy with the information presented in the Prosecutor's response.This defense response reads like a whiny bucket of excuses, IMO. Damage control.

*This link has the actual defense attorney document embedded.

Mohamed Noor’s Attorneys File Response Disputing State’s Claims of Red Flags

In Wednesday’s filing, the lawyers call the state's claims “disgraceful” and “inaccurate," stating that “these lies by omission and clear misstatements of fact actively mislead the reader and obscure the truth.”

Prosecutors argued that Noor himself " reported disliking people and being around them," and he "self-reported disinterest in interacting with other people."

Noor's attorneys argue the court should not consider the prosecution's blind reading of Noor's psych evaluation because the conclusions are, "based on cultural bias and make no reflection of Officer Noor as a person."

This is a breaking news story. KSTP is working to get more details on this story and will post updates as more information becomes available.

(Like, "okay, he hates people and interacting with people, but he's such a nice guy otherwise!")

Noor's attorneys cite training records, psychological test to argue for dismissal of charges

Mohamed Noor's Attorney: State Made "Lies By Omission"

Defense attorneys say that training officers never found Noor to be “unacceptable” at a task. They also say the psychological test is racially biased.

BBM. Playing the "race" and "culture" card-- apparently now we should have "separate" psychological tests for any and all "races" and "cultures" that apply to be MPD officers? Don't police officers have to interact with a WIDE variety of "races" and "cultures" in their role as public servants?

Is it psychologically and socially "acceptable" in MN's race and culture to openly admit "disliking people and being around them," and "self-reported disinterest in interacting with other people"?

Is this how those in public service and helping professions are viewed in his "race and culture"?

I don't care what race or "culture" you come from, if you openly admit (or offer) in the hiring process that you "dislike people and being around them", and you have no interest in "interacting with other people", that admission should be terminally disqualifying for a job as a police officer in ANY "culture" or country on earth.

What community or "culture" on earth is going to say, "well, we prefer our future police officers to feel that they dislike people and being around them" and we especially prefer that our future officers dislike interacting with other people"?

It is documented that MN said these things. Defense does not dispute that MN said this in the hiring process. It significantly worried TWO employment psychologists/ psychiatrists, as well as a human resource hiring professional. That is not insignificant.

Noor's defense team responds to prosecution's claims about ex-Minneapolis cop

County Attorney's Office Supports Noor's Bid for Stay in Civil Lawsuit

 

[Gardenista]

Mohamed Noor's attorneys filed a response to Prosecutor's response today, and are predictably very unhappy with the information presented in the Prosecutor's response.This defense response reads like a whiny bucket of excuses, IMO. Damage control.

*This link has the actual defense attorney document embedded.

Mohamed Noor’s Attorneys File Response Disputing State’s Claims of Red Flags



(Like, "okay, he hates people and interacting with people, but he's such a nice guy otherwise!")

Noor's attorneys cite training records, psychological test to argue for dismissal of charges

Mohamed Noor's Attorney: State Made "Lies By Omission"



BBM. Playing the "race" and "culture" card-- apparently now we should have "separate" psychological tests for any and all "races" and "cultures" that apply to be MPD officers? Don't police officers have to interact with a WIDE variety of "races" and "cultures" in their role as public servants?

Is it psychologically and socially "acceptable" in MN's race and culture to openly admit "disliking people and being around them," and "self-reported disinterest in interacting with other people"?

Is this how those in public service and helping professions are viewed in his "race and culture"?

I don't care what race or "culture" you come from, if you openly admit (or offer) in the hiring process that you "dislike people and being around them", and you have no interest in "interacting with other people", that admission should be terminally disqualifying for a job as a police officer in ANY "culture" or country on earth.

What community or "culture" on earth is going to say, "well, we prefer our future police officers to feel that they dislike people and being around them" and we especially prefer that our future officers dislike interacting with other people"?

It is documented that MN said these things. Defense does not dispute that MN said this in the hiring process. It significantly worried TWO employment psychologists/ psychiatrists, as well as a human resource hiring professional. That is not insignificant.

Noor's defense team responds to prosecution's claims about ex-Minneapolis cop

County Attorney's Office Supports Noor's Bid for Stay in Civil Lawsuit

They must have removed the document, because I don't see it.

 

[K_Z]

They must have removed the document, because I don't see it.

Yes, it was taken down. Can't find it posted elsewhere at the moment.

****************

MN and attorneys were in court today.

Attorneys in a $50 million lawsuit against a former Minneapolis police officer debated Friday whether the lawsuit would unfairly affect the criminal case against the officer who shot and killed a south Minneapolis woman while responding to her 911 call for assistance.

But after an hour of heated debate, U.S. Magistrate Judge Tony Leung ended the hearing without ruling on whether to delay the civil trial. It’s unclear when his decision will come.

Noor’s defense team has argued that allowing the civil case to proceed with the criminal charges looming forces the former officer into a choice between “forfeiting his 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination or vigorously defending himself in the lawsuit.”

Attorney Bob Bennett, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Damond’s father, said in court filings that courts have to set a high bar for seeking a delay, adding it is unlikely that the suit would be resolved anytime soon given the “molasses-like pace infecting Noor’s criminal case.”

No ruling after lawyers in Mohamed Noor case debate delaying civil suit

Noor attorneys, Minneapolis press judge to delay Ruszczyk family suit

Prosecutors in Mohamed Noor case look to proceed with case while defense delays

 

[JerseyGirl]

Criminal defense attorney shares his thoughts on the upcoming Mohamed Noor trial

 

[K_Z]

Noor has invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, meaning he won't be able to provide the Ruszczyk family answers until the criminal trial is over, Forsgren said.

"No person" should be forced to defend themselves in civil and criminal matters at the same time, he said.

But Ruszczyk's family attorney Bob Bennett said a blanket Fifth Amendment invocation isn't appropriate in this case and that there is plenty to do while the criminal case proceeds.

Bennett suggested that Noor choose selective assertion of the Fifth Amendment, where he could share pieces of information, and choose not to share others. He also said the court could protect the integrity of the criminal trial by sealing all material in this case.

Minneapolis City Attorney Kristin Sarff argued that the city cannot get access to certain information, that would be protected under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, as part of the ongoing criminal case. She gave the examples of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension file or the Hennepin County Attorney's investigation material, that wouldn't be available to her.

But Bennett said there is no way the city is unable to gain access to documents detailing its own data regarding police department policies, training and officers' use of body cameras. It's unclear how long the criminal proceedings will take and he wants to begin reviewing the thousands of pages of documents available, including an 8,000 page BCA file.

Noor's next hearing in the criminal case is scheduled for Sept. 27. He has yet to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty on those charges.

BBM.

Noor attorneys, Minneapolis press judge to delay Ruszczyk family suit

 

[K_Z]

New article related to the next hearing in the criminal case for Sept 20.

The omnibus hearing in Hennepin County District Court next Thursday will revolve around motions filed by Noor's attorneys seeking to dismiss the charges and suppress psychological testing of Noor by the Minneapolis Police Department.

Judge Kathryn Quaintance will likely issue a judgment on the motions after the hearing. If the judge finds that there is probable cause to proceed with the charges, she could set a date for Noor's trial. His attorneys have indicated that he plans to plead not guilty, but he has not yet entered a plea.

Judge to weigh dismissing charges against ex-Mpls. cop Noor in Ruszczyk killing

 

[K_Z]

Some "light" reading for those interested.

The first two are very interesting articles discussing the psychological examination process for Minneapolis Police Officer Candidates. They both have frank and direct criticisms of the current process, as well as criticisms of the professional qualifications of the current examining psychologists/ psychiatrists. They offer suggestions to improve and standardize the process that are from the police and public safety industry. I would imagine someone like Gary Fischler would be retained as an expert witness for trial.

Gary Fischler, of Minneapolis, is a police and public-safety psychologist. He is past chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police/Police Psychological Services Section.

Central to these issues are the criteria or standards that are used to evaluate officer fitness. Minnesota Administrative Rules Chapter 6700.0700, Subpart 1, requires police applicants to undergo a psychological evaluation, “including an oral interview … made by a licensed psychologist to determine that the applicant is free from any emotional or mental condition which might adversely affect the performance of the peace officer duties” (emphasis added). These criteria are much broader and more comprehensive than those apparently used by the doctor who examined Noor, which relied on an absence of major mental illness, chemical dependence or personality disorder to determine fitness. The difference between these sets of criteria is not merely semantic, as it reflects two completely different standards.

The standard applied to Noor is narrow and relies on absence of a diagnosable mental disorder. Using this standard, only a very small percentage of only the most disturbed individuals would be psychologically disqualified from a peace officer job.

Screening for Minneapolis police recruits is concerning

The protocol is less rigorous than best practices nationally and the evaluator lacked the proper license. Police leaders are moving to replace him for another reason: They believe he screened out too many minority candidates.

The screening protocol the city put Noor and 200 other officers through during the past five years is less extensive than the battery of tests used in comparable cities. It's also less rigorous than national best practices and the screenings Minneapolis administered for more than a decade before. [1]

Starting in 2012, the city eliminated four of the five psychological tests used to screen applicants for its police academy. Those tests — at least one of which the department had used since at least the mid-1990s — were dropped even though a federally funded study conducted in the Minneapolis Police Department showed some were effective at identifying problem officers.

Minneapolis police recruits get less psychological testing than they used to | Minimizing Mental Fitness | APM Reports

National Best Practices:

Peace Officer Psychological Screening Manual

Whether targeting psychological stability or suitability, the purpose of POST-mandated peace officer psychological screening is to screen-out (deselect candidates who do not meet minimum statutory requirements and POST standards) as opposed to select-in (identify the best candidates from among those who are minimally qualified). This is an important distinction, as a screen-out model aimed at determining if a candidate is at a low risk for engaging in ineffective or counterproductive job behavior does not imply a prediction that the individual will exhibit high levels of job performance (Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, 2014). An agency is well within its rights to include a select-in strategy, as well as adopt more rigorous requirements, higher standards, and/or a more indepth evaluation beyond that required by POST [Commission Regulation 1950(d)].

http://lib.post.ca.gov/Publications/Peace_Officer_Psychological_Screening_Manual.pdf

Federally funded study looking at psychological screening in the MPD -- by Gary Fischler (Same author as the first article linked above)

IDENTIFYING PSYCHOLOGICAL PREDICTORS OF POLICE OFFICER INTEGRITY PROBLEMS (long-- 141 pages)

https://psycheval.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Integrity-Project-Final-Report-12-19-04.pdf

** Also keep in mind as one reads the above that Officer Noor's attorneys are complaining (in the latest filing linked upthread) that the heavily truncated psychological screening process MN was evaluated in is "racist" and not ethnically or culturally competent.

Will his attorneys then argue that *if* the National Best Practices had been followed that Noor never would have been approved psychologically to be a police officer?

Or will the prosecution go down this path first? Begs the question, IMO.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Prosecutors want some Noor evidence kept private before Ruszczyk shooting trial

 

[K_Z]

Another motion filed today-- discussed in articles, but actual motion not linked. Interesting development, as Noor has not made any official statements about what happened. BBM below.

The state filed a motion Thursday for the disclosure of sources for two statements, which the prosecution argues could only have come from Noor, who has not given a statement or been interviewed in the case.

In the motion, prosecutors state these two statements imply Noor was "legitimately frightened and justifiably used force" and to this point in the case Noor has never said this.

If the defense does not supply the source of the statements, the state asked for the two statements to be thrown out altogether.

Statements submitted by Noor defense called into question by prosecutors

 

[K_Z]

Murder Case Against Mohamed Noor Heads Back To Court

Attorneys head to court Thursday to argue over whether a criminal case should go forward .....

The hearing is mostly about whether the case can proceed to trial. Defense attorneys are asking that the charges be dismissed for a lack of probable cause.

The defense also wants the charges thrown out because of public statements by Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman that they claim undermine his right to a fair trial. And they’ve asked the judge to suppress psychological records, saying the search warrants used to obtain them violated his right to confidentiality.

Prosecutors say Noor’s psychological records were properly obtained with valid search warrants, and no physician-patient privilege bars their admissibility.

Hennepin County District Judge Kathryn Quaintance is expected to let the case proceed, although it’s not clear if she’ll rule Thursday or later. It will also be up to her whether to take Noor’s not-guilty plea Thursday or at another hearing. He remains free on bail.

Murder Case Against Mohamed Noor Heads Back To Court

 

[Bohemian]

Mohamed Noor to stand trial next April over shooting of Justine Damond Ruszczyk - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

‘Former US police officer Mohamed Noor will stand trial on murder and manslaughter charges for the 2017 shooting of Australian woman Justine Damond Ruszczyk.’

‘A judge on Thursday found probable cause for a criminal case to proceed against Mr Noor.’

‘The former police officer maintained his silence as he arrived in court.’

‘He made a number of petitions with the court trying to have the charges thrown out on the grounds that he was following police procedure when he shot and killed Ms Ruszczyk.

The judge Kathryn Quaintance ran through those motions and dismissed each one of them fairly quickly.

At the end of the hearing, she set a trial date of April 1 and the defendant will face a jury in April next year.

Judge Quaintance also declined to suppress Mr Noor's psychological records from his police training.’