News in :90 – April 24, 2019

Prosecutors in the case of a Minneapolis police officer who shot an unarmed woman have been hammering away at what could be a key element of Mohamed Noor’s defense– that he heard a loud slap against his police SUV that stirred fears of an ambush.

The prosecution has tried to raise doubts about whether the noise occurred, noting that police at the scene of the crime turned body cameras on and off at will, did not share information and possibly disturbed evidence.

“There was a conspicuous absence of information,” Chris Olson, assistant agent in charge of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, testified this week.

Noor is on trial for murder and manslaughter in the July 15, 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a 40-year-old dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia who reported a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home. She was shot after she approached the vehicle.

President Donald Trump threatened on Twitter Wednesday to send armed soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border. There are already U.S. troops there to reduce illegal crossings.

He tweeted: “Better not happen again! We are now sending armed soldiers to the Border. Mexico is not doing nearly enough in apprehending and returning!”

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said Trump is “just making clear, as he always has, that he has many different actions at his disposal” to try and stop what the administration calls a humanitarian crisis at the border.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador promised at a Wednesday news conference to investigate the border incident.

“We are going to analyze this incident, we are going to take account of what he (Trump) is indicating and will act in conformity with the law, within the framework of our sovereignty,” Obrador said.

He added: “We are not going to fight with the government of the United States. The most important thing is that we want a relationship of mutual respect and cooperation for development.”

St. Thomas replaced its previous active shooter training video with a new video, which focuses on the Department of Homeland Security’s recommended courses of action in the event of an active shooter: Run, hide and fight.

“I’ve been here for thirty plus years and we’ve had more conversations about this in the last five to seven years than we did years ago,” Vice president for student affairs Karen Lange said. “Unfortunately it’s become a reality that we need to think about.”

Lange recommends students and staff discusses basic safety plans, including awareness of hiding places, exits and objects they can use to defend themselves.

The story and accompanying graphic can be found here.

Emily Haugen can be reached at haug7231@stthomas.edu.