BCA gets personnel files, psychological records of officers involved in Damond shooting

A search warrant sought the personnel records of the officers involved.

September 7, 2017 at 2:58AM
FILE - In this Aug. 11, 2017, file photo, Johnna Morrow plays the didgeridoo during a memorial service for Justine Damond in Minneapolis. Damond was killed by a Minneapolis police officer on July 15 after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault near her home. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said he expects to decide by the end of the year whether to charge the officer in Damond's death. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 11, 2017, file photo, Johnna Morrow plays the didgeridoo during a memorial service for Justine Damond in Minneapolis. Damond was killed by a Minneapolis police officer on July 15 after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault near her home. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said he expects to decide by the end of the year whether to charge the officer in Damond's death. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP, File) (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is continuing to dig into the backgrounds of the two Minneapolis police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond nearly two months ago.

Their latest request: The unredacted personnel files and medical records of the officers, Mohamed Noor and Matthew Harrity.

Damond, 40, a native of Australia, was shot and killed July 15 by Noor when the officers responded to her 911 call about a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her Fulton neighborhood home. The case drew international outrage and led to the ouster of Chief Janeé Harteau.

In the search warrant filed this week in Hennepin County District court, BCA special agent Douglas Henning wrote that the records "may assist with the investigation." Henning requested "any remaining data maintained by the City of Minneapolis for these officers," including "medical files that contain pre-employment psychological exams, the unredacted personnel files, and the pre-employment background investigations," the warrant said.

The department turned the information over to the BCA last week on a disc and two envelopes containing copies of the requested data, according to the warrant.

Since the shooting, the police command staff has voluntarily provided to investigators body camera videos, the patrol vehicle involved in the shooting, audio of 911 calls and police radio traffic and the officers' iPhones.

Because the officers' personnel files are protected under the state's data practices law, the BCA had to get a warrant to obtain them.

Libor Jany • 612-673-4064 Twitter:@StribJany

The BCA has wrapped up its investigation of the fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond by a Minneapolis police officer and present the case to the Hennepin county attorney.
Hours after Justine Ruszczyk Damond was shot to death by a Minneapolis police officer, state agents executed a search warrant at her home. (Stephen Govel/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Libor Jany

Reporter

Libor Jany is the Minneapolis crime reporter for the Star Tribune. He joined the newspaper in 2013, after stints in newsrooms in Connecticut, New Jersey, California and Mississippi. He spent his first year working out of the paper's Washington County bureau, focusing on transportation and education issues, before moving to the Dakota County team.

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