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The fiance of an unarmed woman killed by a former Minneapolis police officer said that he wanted the country's police to learn lessons from the case. Don Damond told "CBS This Morning," "it's a problem keeping the order," during his first phone interview since former Minneapolis police officer, Mohamed Noor , was convicted of Justine Damond's murder last week.
"I can not even understand how that could happen," Damond said.
As part of their final conversation, Justine called Don on the evening of July 15, 2017, while he was in Las Vegas for work. He said she feared to have heard of a possible sexual assault near their home.
"My first thought was," I want her to be safe, "said Don Damond." And then I said: "I think, stay put and call 911 and then call me back."
Noor and her partner responded to Justine's call. While he was looking for a suspect in his patrol car, Noor testified that he heard a loud slap on the driver's side of the vehicle and fired at Damond from the passenger seat, out of fear for his partner's life.
"Probably six or seven minutes later, I send him a text message having not heard from him," Don said. "I said:" Tell me what's going on. "At this point, she was already gone."
Don and Justine were four weeks away from her marriage. Noor faces more than 15 years in prison after being convicted of third degree murder.
Don said that he had broken down in tears after reading the verdict.
"It was the recognition that we know how tragic it is, how wrong it is, how unfair it was."
Calling for change, Don hopes the police can learn from his grief.
"I would like the Minneapolis Police Department to come back and think about officer training," Don said. "I can understand where Black Lives Matter is so angry because you can see the unjustified shootings in this country, but it's a blue problem."
The case is not the first lethal shootout of the police in Minnesota to attract national attention.
In 2016, Jeronimo Yanez, a police officer from the suburbs of St. Paul, shot and killed Philando Castile, 32, at a roadside check.
A jury finally acquitted Yanez of all charges, prompting protests across the twin cities.
Minneapolis city leaders, including the mayor and the chief of police, acknowledged that police department training and policies needed to be improved.
"Above all, my vision of the future of the department is the sanctity of life," said Minareapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo Friday.
Damond hopes that progress is not limited to Minneapolis.
"How can we use what has been learned here to change and deal with the police in this country?" Changes need to be made so that no one is forced to go through this.That no one ever has to live this that we have lived, "said Damond.
Justine's family sued for civil rights violations, demanding more than $ 50 million from Minneapolis.
The city has arranged with the family for $ 20 million, of which $ 2 million will go to a fund to fight local gun violence.
Noor's lawyers have not yet announced they would appeal his conviction.
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