MINNEAPOLIS _ A fingerprint specialist testified Monday in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor that none of the 51 prints lifted from his police vehicle belonged to Justine Ruszczyk Damond, while adding that in some cases testing came back inconclusive.
But, under questioning by the defense, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension forensic scientist Jennifer Kostroski admitted that observation doesn't necessarily eliminate the possibility that Damond slapped the vehicle, as Noor's attorneys have claimed.
Kostroski testified that after going through a multistep verification process, she determined that Damond's prints did not match any of those found on the vehicle, or the tests were inconclusive due to "limited information."
For instance, of the 19 prints found on a section of the vehicle's hood, 16 belonged to someone else, and another three were too smudged to be useful, Kostroski said.
Later in his questioning, Prosecutor Patrick Lofton pointed out that the prints weren't tested until earlier this year _ the latest disclosure of possible missteps in the investigation by the BCA.
"Didn't we become aware a few weeks ago and had all of these comparisons done?" he asked.
"Yes," Kostroski responded.
But, during his cross-examination, defense attorney Thomas Plunkett pointed out that in her role Kostroski didn't respond to the scene, only relying on samples collected by other technicians. She also couldn't be sure that Damond didn't leave a print that wasn't wiped away or obscured otherwise, Plunkett insisted.
"You cannot say that a specific person did not touch an object, isn't that correct?" he asked.
"Yes, that's correct," she said.
Kostroski's statements renewed the debate over whether Noor and his former partner, Matthew Harrity, were startled by a loud sound _ possibly a slap on the back of their squad vehicle _ moments before the shooting. The prosecution has gone to great lengths to dispel that narrative, pointing to Harrity's comments to a supervisor at the scene, which made no mention of a slap.
Jason Simser, a blood spatter specialist from the BCA, said that he had found significant amounts of blood droplets on the officers' boots, but none on their shirts.
Before jurors broke for lunch Monday, prosecutors questioned BCA investigators on the handling of the squad Noor was riding in on the night he fatally shot Damond, as the much-watched trial enters its fourth week.
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys have focused considerable energy on why and how the squad repeatedly changed hands. It was returned to Minneapolis police the day after the July 15, 2017 shooting, taken to the BCA four days later at the direction of Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Amy Sweasy and returned to Minneapolis again _ only to be sent back to the BCA on Sept. 1, 2017. It now remains in BCA custody.
Noor fatally shot Damond after he and Harrity responded to her 911 call about a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her south side home. Noor fired at Damond from the passenger seat as she appeared in the driver's side window. He was charged with murder and manslaughter, becoming only the second officer in recent state history to be charged for an on-duty killing.
The defense voiced concerns early on before trial about the car being washed and returned to Minneapolis police after the shooting, preventing them from conducting independent tests on the vehicle. The prosecution's interest in examining the back and forth with the vehicle is unclear. Prosecutors previously said the squad was eventually sent back to the BCA so the interior could be tested for gunshot residue. In a March court filing responding to the defense's complaints about how the car was handled, the prosecution appeared to express no qualms with the process because the BCA fully processed the car for fingerprints at the scene.
BCA special agent Eric Knutson testified Monday that the decision to return the squad to Minneapolis police on July 16 was made by BCA investigators and officials at the scene.
"Did you have any concerns at the time about that?" Sweasy asked.
"I did not," Knutson asked.
BCA special agent Doug Henning later testified that the squad was taken to the BCA July 20 to be measured, and was returned to the BCA that September for additional testing, and has remained in their custody.
Henning also testified that he interviewed Noor's partner, Matthew Harrity and their supervisor, Sgt. Shannon Barnette, about the shooting. He said the 90-minute interview with Harrity occurred at the home of Harrity's attorney, Fred Bruno, an arrangement that prosecutors have been critical of since delivering their opening statements.
Sweasy pressed Henning on why and how the home interview was allowed to occur before later launching into a string of questions about how Minneapolis police took several months to release several body camera videos in the case to the BCA.
Sweasy asked Henning if he knew who Harrity spoke to in the three days between the shooting and his interview.
Henning said Harrity spoke to his wife and Plunkett, who he had believed would serve as his attorney, and Bruno.
Sweasy asked if anything prohibited Harrity from speaking to others.
"No, but it's discouraged," Henning said.
Any reason the interview could not be conducted at BCA headquarters in St. Paul, Sweasy asked.
"No, there is not," Henning said.
He said that in the interview, Harrity mentioned a "noise" on the squad car and did not specifically say anything about a slap.
Under questioning by Sweasy, Henning testified that: He interviewed Barnette for 12 minutes on Aug. 10. That same day, the BCA received six squad camera videos and one body camera video from Minneapolis police.
It took "weeks" to get more body camera videos from police, Sweasy asked.
"They took a while, yes," Henning said.
Months, Sweasy asked.
Possibly, Henning said.
Sweasy asked if the BCA was still receiving body camera videos on Oct. 24, 2017.
Yes, Henning said.
Defense attorney Thomas Plunkett tried to deflate the prosecution's focus on the Harrity interview at Bruno's home, where Sweasy solicited testimony that Henning received coffee and a doughnut from Bruno.
Plunkett asked if Bruno had concerns about Harrity's safety and media possibly following him during his transport to an interview.
Sweasy objected.
"As to Bruno," the judge said, "it's irrelevant."
Plunkett also seized the opportunity to criticize the handling of the squad.
"A month and a half is a long time for a piece of evidence to be floating around out there?" Plunkett asked.
Yes, said Henning, who said he was not part of the decision to release the vehicle to Minneapolis police.
On redirect, Sweasy continued to press on the Harrity interview.
"Is the BCA facility in St. Paul a safe place?" she asked.
Yes, Henning said.
"Is there a way to get a person in and out of there without the general public knowing?" she asked.
"Yes," Henning said.
"That's all I have," Sweasy said.
Harrity, the state's star witness, testified last week that while he too was startled by a loud sound moments before he shooting, he didn't fire his gun because he hadn't yet had a chance to assess the threat.
Earlier in the hearing, Knutson testified that a search warrant was obtained for Damond's house "to try to make sure that we identified any and all evidence.
"We're trying to understand what happened because we didn't have a lot of information," he said.
Under questioning by the defense, Knutson admitted that he'd met with prosecutors last month, but declined to speak with Noor's attorneys.
The prosecution is expected to call several use-of-force experts as witnesses before resting its case later this week.
As has been his custom since the trial started, Noor walked into the courtroom and nodded a hello to relatives in the front row before taking a seat between his lawyers, Thomas Plunkett and Peter Wold.
The defense hasn't signaled whether it intends to put Noor on the witness stand to give his account of that night; the former officer has repeatedly declined to speak to investigators.
Jurors on Monday also heard from Nicole Lendway, a forensic scientist from the Minneapolis police crime lab, who testified briefly about photographing Noor and Harrity after the shooting and retrieving their body cameras, in keeping with department.
Under cross-examination by the defense, Knutson testified that the squad was taken back to the BCA on Sweasy's orders. The defense has raised concerns that the vehicle had been washed and returned to service before they could have it independently tested; then-5th Precinct inspector Kathy Waite previously testified that she thought the squad had been released too soon.
