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Fiancé of Slain Australian Woman Speaks Out Amid Investigation

40-year-old Don Damond spoke on the phone with his fiancé as she waited for police to arrive

The fiancé of Justine Damond, the unarmed Australian woman killed by a police officer last week in Minneapolis after calling 911, says he keeps thinking about the circumstances of the fatal shooting "over and over."

Don Damond, who is also Australian, told Justine to call 911 and stayed on the phone with his fiancé until the police arrived. Damond was in Las Vegas at the time of his fiancé's death.

"I have played this over in my head over and over," Damond told The New York Times in his first interview since the shooting. "Why didn't I stay on the phone with her?"

Investigators are trying to figure out what went wrong on that Saturday night when Justine, a 40-year-old life coach, called police to report a possible sexual assault happening behind her home.

Officer Mohamed Noor, the officer who shot Damond, and his partner, Officer Matthew Harrity, did not have their body cameras on. Harrity said that he was startled by a loud noise before the shooting, The Associated Press reported. Noor has remained silent amid outcry over the case, having yet to speak with investigators. 

Minneapolis police Chief Janee Harteau resigned on Friday at the request of Mayor Betsy Hodges in the aftermath of the shooting.

"I've decided I am willing to step aside to let a fresh set of leadership eyes see what more can be done for the MPD to be the very best it can be," Harteau said in a statement on Friday.

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