Police mocked in fake street signs illegally installed in Twin Cities

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Minneapolis police chief: Justine Damond didn't have to die

Chief Janee Harteau is not standing behind Officer Mohammed Noor; Mike Tobin reports from Chicago

As public fallout over the fatal police shooting of Justine Damond continues, an apparent protest surfaced on the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul where at least two street signs mocking the local police were illegally posted.

“Warning: Twin Cities police easily startled” reads the signs that also had an image of a panicked officer firing off pistols, according to Fox9.com.

The signs were discovered on Sunday in both the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis and an intersection in St. Paul. Both were bolted to metal posts, similar to regular street signs.

The signs were eventually taken down by both cities’ respective public works departments, but not before photos of the signs went viral on social media.

“There’s a side of truth to the sign,” one Minneapolis resident told the Star-Tribune after snapping a picture of it. “That tells you there is something wrong with the system.”

It has been a little over a week since Damond, a spiritual healer and life coach who was due to be married in August, called 911 twice on Saturday night to report an alleged sexual assault in the alley behind her home.

When Minneapolis police officers Mohamed Noor and Matthew Harrity arrived on scene, they said they heard a loud bang before Damond approached the driver’s side of the police car.

Noor, who was sitting in the passenger seat, fired his gun and hit Damond in the abdomen. In a statement, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide and said she died Saturday at 11:51 p.m. in the alleyway.

The killing of Damond has once again dredged up resentment toward a police department that has been embroiled in controversy in recent years over the actions of its officers.

Last year, 32-year-old Philando Castile was killed by an officer during a traffic stop in a nearby suburb after he told the officer he was armed. The officer was acquitted in June of manslaughter and other charges.

In November 2015, a Minneapolis police officer shot and killed Jamar Clark during a struggle in which the officer said Clark grabbed his partner's weapon.