Latest: Minnesota governor defends agency in police shooting


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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Latest on the investigation into a Minneapolis police officer's fatal shooting of an Australian woman (all times local):

1 p.m.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is defending the state agency investigating the fatal shooting of an Australian woman by a Minneapolis police officer.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating Justine Ruszczyk Damond's killing last summer. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said last week that he didn't yet have enough evidence to charge Officer Mohamed Noor, saying investigators "haven't done their jobs."

Damond's father John Ruszczyk expressed concern Thursday at a news conference in Sydney that the investigation has not been properly conducted.

Dayton says he understands the family is distraught but that the bureau has performed its job rigorously.

Damond was shot and killed July 15 while Noor and his partner responded to her call about a possible sexual assault in her neighborhood.

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10 a.m.

The Minnesota agency investigating the death of an Australian woman who was fatally shot by a Minneapolis police officer says it's committed to conducting a fair, impartial and thorough investigation as it gathers facts and evidence in the case.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension issued a statement after the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond held a news conference in Sydney to demand a more rigorous probe. The family spoke out after Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said last week that he didn't have enough evidence yet to charge Officer Mohamed Noor. He said investigators "haven't done their jobs."

The BCA says it turned the case over to Freeman's office on Sept. 12 and will continue to work with prosecutors as they review the case.

Freeman's office declined to comment Thursday on the family's statement.

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8 a.m.

The family of an Australian woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in Minnesota in July has demanded a more rigorous probe into the incident after a prosecutor cast doubts on the investigation.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman last week said investigators "haven't done their job" in relation to the shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond by Officer Mohamed Noor in Minneapolis.

Reading a statement to media in Sydney, Damond's father John Ruszczyk said Thursday that his family is deeply concerned about the possibility that "the initial investigation was not done properly, and with the greatest integrity or sense of completeness."

He says they "implore Mr Freeman and the prosecutor's office to continue to pursue a rigorous investigation and examination of evidence of the events leading to Justine's death."

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