The policies behind the use of force were explored Wednesday in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor, who is charged in the fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. Here is a look at the day's noteworthy development:
- The prosecution called two use-of-force experts, Derrick Hacker and Timothy Longo Sr., to the stand to bolster their claims that Mohamed Noor did not act reasonably when he fatally shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond.
- Hacker, a Crystal police lieutenant, said Noor would not have been justified in using a Taser or pepper spray — much less his gun — adding that "the use of force was objectionable, unreasonable and violated police policies ... and training."
- Defense attorney Peter Wold's cross-examination of Hacker focused on his lack of training with officers in two-person squads. Hacker testified earlier that Crystal police work in one-person squads due to staffing. The defense has pushed the importance of partners backing each other up on the job and relying on the other to make decisions on their own.
- Longo, a former police chief in Charlottesville, Va., and former Baltimore police colonel, said the officers should have turned their body cameras on when they drove down an alley investigating Damond's 911 call about a possible sexual assault, and they should have contacted her since she called 911 a second time to check on their arrival time.
