'Wrong on every level': Family remembers Aussie shot by US cop
The father of an Australian woman shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer choked back tears at her public memorial service as he talked about the pain of the loss of his daughter, Justine Ruczczyk-Damond.
In a message to the police, John Ruszczyk said "you have stolen our daughter and ripped her from our arms."
He also said she was planning to get married next week.
He said: "Justine my daughter was killed by a bullet fired by an agent of the state. I don't understand. I should have been on a plane to her wedding but we were flying to her funeral."
Mourners wearing heart-shaped stickers have gathered at a lakefront stage at Lake Harriet in southwest Minneapolisto to remember the Australian woman, who was shot and killed by a police officer responding to her 911 call.
Mr Ruszczyk said: "Justine should not have died, this was wrong on every level".
Ms Ruczczyk-Damond's fiancé Don Damond also spoke at the memorial and said that the pair should have been celebrating their wedding.
A banner above the band shell at Lake Harriet reads, "Move from fear and survival to fascination and creation".
An Australian flag stood on the stage next to a large colour photo of Damond and pink and white flowers.
The 40-year-old was fatally shot by Officer Mohamed Noor on July 15 after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault near her home.
A man at the back of the crowd held a sign that read, "NOOR RESIGN NOW".
Damond was engaged to be married in August.
Her fiance, Don Damond, and her father, John Ruszczyk, were among those scheduled to speak at the public memorial.
Meanwhile, a judge has approved a search warrant for investigators to examine the smartphones of two Minneapolis police officers linked to the fatal shooting.
The search warrant shows that an agent with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension requested permission to download data from the iPhones issued by the Minneapolis Police Department.
The application says the information "may more clearly define" the officers' actions before and after Damond was killed.
Noor's partner told investigators a noise startled him just before Damond approached their police SUV.
Noor was in the passenger seat and shot Damond through the open driver-side window. He has declined to be interviewed by investigators, and cannot be compelled to do so.
Newsbreak - August 12
