Close friends of slain yoga teacher speak out for the first time
Close friends of the yoga teacher who was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer are speaking out for the first time.
Justine Damond was killed Saturday, minutes after calling 911 about a possible rape near her home. Transcripts of her calls were released on Wednesday.
Those who knew Damond are calling her death senseless. It has moved complete strangers to leave flowers at the spiritual center where she taught.
CBS News' Jaime Yuccas reports the people in her inner circle are devastated. They're calling worldwide attention to Damond's death, hoping it will lead to lasting change.
Carole and Tom Hyder have spent much of the last week consoling Damond's fiancé, Don, and his son, Zack. It was Tom who first told Zack that Damond had died.
"He just stepped back and got quiet," Tom said. "And then, you got to see him get angry. But the disbelief, it was Justine of all people."
"We're all trying to ease the pain in some way," Carole added.
Damond called 911 at 11:27 p.m. Saturday because she thought a woman was being raped in the alley behind her home.
"I think she tried to say, 'Help,' and it sounds distressed," she told the 911 operator.
Eight minutes later, with no police in sight, she called again.
"No one's here," Damond said. "And wondering if they got the address wrong."
Officers Mohammed Noor and Matthew Harrity responded. Harrity drove their police vehicle down the alley. Their lights, body and squad cameras were off.
Harrity told state investigators he was startled by a loud sound when they reached the end of the alley. Just before Damond appeared by his door in her pajamas. Noor fired a single, fatal shot from the passenger's seat.
"The alley is lit," Carole said. "I can't imagine what she would have done that would have alarmed anybody."
Harrity's attorney, Fred Bruno, told CBS News: "It is reasonable to assume an officer in that situation would be concerned about a possible ambush."
"I've called 911 and I've walked out to see if I could be of assistance," Tom said. "We've all done that."
Noor joined the police department two years ago. The Damond family's attorney, Bob Bennett, says he will be looking closely at Noor's training records and how he was hired.
"We don't want politically approved police officers," Bennett said.
Tom says he hopes some form of training will happen.
"Not that it needs to happen," he said. "It will happen this time."
Noor has exercised his constitutional right not to speak to investigators. His attorney has not responded to our multiple requests for comment.
Damond's family in Australia says they want to bring her home to giver her a farewell in her home town. Here in the U.S., a memorial service is being planned for August -- the same month she was supposed to get married.