MINNEAPOLIS _ Minnesota authorities have completed their investigation into the fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond this summer in a Minneapolis alley by a police officer and turned the case over to the Hennepin County attorney's office for consideration of charges.
The handing off of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's findings was announced Tuesday morning.
"As it has throughout this investigation, the BCA will continue to work with the county attorney as needed to provide any additional information" to prosecutors, the state Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
In a statement issued moments after the transfer of the case was announced, the county attorney's office released a statement of its own, saying, "We appreciate the hard work the BCA has put into investigating the July 15th shooting. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and several senior prosecutors will now carefully review the case file to determine what, if any, charges might be brought."
The statement said that neither Freeman nor anyone associated with his office will have more to say about the case for the time being.
Damond, 40, called police late at night about noises behind her Fulton neighborhood home on Washburn Avenue S. that she suspected might be a sexual assault.
One of the two responding officers, Mohamed Noor, fired at her as she approached the squad car he was riding in. Noor has been on paid leave since the shooting.
Freeman, speaking at a forum of neighborhood residents on Sunday, said that the shooting didn't have to happen.
"I'm saddened by the death of this fine young woman," Freeman said to the gathering of about 50 residents. "It didn't have to happen. It shouldn't have happened."
He has said that he will decide whether charges will be filed, again breaking with the longtime tradition of having that task handled by a grand jury. He said Sunday he expects to decide by the end of the year.
