MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The father and the fiance of an Australian woman shot to death by a Minneapolis police officer responding to her 911 call grieved at a public memorial service Friday night, the same time the family had planned to be on a plane to her wedding.
Justine Damond’s father, John Ruszczyk, choked back tears as he vowed to find justice for his 40-year-old daughter, whom he described as being “ripped from our arms.”
“We should be walking down the street smiling and laughing,” he said of his first visit to Minneapolis. “But now every step on the foot path is very painful. I feel crushed by sorrow.”
Hundreds of people, many wearing heart-shaped stickers, attended the memorial service. An Australian flag was displayed prominently on the stage next to Damond’s picture.
Her fiance, Don Damond, said it “felt like a privilege to love Justine.” They were getting married next week in Hawaii, and he pointed out the painful irony that the service – held at a lakefront stage near her home in southwest Minneapolis – coincided with the family’s original travel plans.