Minneapolis police cannot say for sure what Justine Damond's last words were.

The latest account, released in the charges laid overnight against officer Mohamed Noor, only says that after being shot once in the abdomen she clutched at her side and said either "I'm dying" or "I'm dead".

Eleven minutes later, she was gone.

It began with a 911 call

According to the report, which provides an almost minute-by-minute description of the events that took place on the night of July 15 last year, the entire incident took just 24 minutes.

It began at 11:27pm, when Ms Damond first called Minneapolis police to report a possible assault outside her home.

After calling again to double check they had recorded the right address, she phoned her fiance Don for the last time.

The police arrive

The couple spoke for just under two minutes before Ms Damond said "OK, the police are here" and hung up.

By this time it was 11:40pm.

Mr Noor and his partner Matthew Harrity had just driven down the alleyway where Ms Damond had suspected someone was being assaulted.

They had turned the squad car's headlights off and driven slowly through the alley, using a spotlight to search for any suspicious activity.

But after finding nothing, they turned the lights back on, radioed that the situation was under control, and decided to provide back-up to officers on another call.

But first they had to wait for a bicyclist to pass by them.

Tributes for Ms Damond were written on this driveway near where she was shot. ( The Star Tribune: Phat Pheifer )

A thump, a 'glimpse', and then a shot fired

As they waited, Mr Harrity said he heard a whispered voice and a thump somewhere on the back of the car.

He caught "a glimpse" of a person's head and shoulders outside his window, and remembers saying "oh shit" or "oh Jesus".

Startled and fearing for his life, he "reached for his gun, un-holstered it and held it to his ribcage while pointing it downward", the police account says.

But then he "heard a sound that sounded like a light bulb dropping on the floor" and saw a flash.

Mr Noor's right arm was extended towards him, and when he looked out the window of the car, he saw Ms Damond.

"I'm dying" or "I'm dead," she said.

Then at 11:41pm the two officers began giving Ms Damond CPR and radioed for assistance.

The cyclist they had waited for earlier began filming the events on his mobile phone, but then left the scene.

Back-up police, the Minneapolis Fire Department and paramedics soon arrived, but their efforts to resuscitate Ms Damond were unsuccessful.

At 11:51pm, she was pronounced dead.

Here are the charges against Noor

Mr Noor has now been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

"In the short time between when Ms Damond Ruszczyk approached the squad car and the time that officer Noor fired the fatal shot, there is no evidence that officer Noor encountered a threat, appreciated a threat, investigated a threat or confirmed a threat that justified his decision to use deadly force," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said, referring to her also by her maiden name.

"Instead officer Noor intentionally and recklessly fired his handgun from the passenger seat in disregard for human life."

If convicted of third-degree murder, Mr Noor could face a maximum of 25 years in prison, though the presumptive sentence is 12-and-a-half years.