Court overturns third-degree murder conviction against ex-Minneapolis officer

MINNEAPOLIS (Halbeeg News) – The Minnesota Supreme Court overturned the third-degree murder conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor, who fatally shot an unarmed Australian woman in 2017, which could reduce eight years from his prison sentence.

Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault behind her home. The case gained attention both in the United States and abroad and was notable because police were rarely charged or convicted in fatal shootings.

By some accounts the first conviction in decades of a Minnesota police officer for an on-duty killing, the shooting prompted sweeping changes in the city and the police department, with the state police chief forced out, and ignited wider conversations about flaws in the criminal justice system.

In 2019, Noor was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison for third-degree murder, a crime that involves acting with “a depraved mind, without regard for human life.”

Jurors acquitted Noor of the more serious second-degree murder charge. He was not sentenced for manslaughter.

Supreme Court justices said in their opinion Wednesday that the circumstances of the killing and Noor’s actions do not fit the definition of third-degree murder because he was targeting a single person when he shot his weapon. They ordered the case be sent to the district court, where Noor will be sentenced on the second-degree manslaughter conviction, according to court documents.

Noor has already served more than 28 months of his sentence. If he is sentenced to the state’s recommended four years for manslaughter, he could be eligible for supervised release as early as in three and a half months, legal experts say.

Several calls and messages to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case, were not immediately answered.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman told the Star Tribune that the prosecutors were “disappointed” by the Supreme Court decisions and that they will seek the maximum prison term of 10 years when Noor is resentenced.

Four years ago, Damond called the police in the middle of the night to investigate a strange noise she heard behind her home, telling the 911 operator that she thought a woman was possibly being sexually assaulted.

Noor and his partner, Matthew Harrity, were sent to a southwest Minneapolis neighborhood.

Dressed in her pajamas, Damond went outside in the dark alley and startled the officers, according to testimony.

Noor testified that he thought his partner’s life was in danger when he saw a “terrified” look in his face, which prompted him to fire his weapon at Damond, who had approached their squad car in the dark. He shot a single, fatal shot to her chest.

Prosecutors argued that Noor overacted and that he had failed to properly assess the situation before shooting his weapon, killing Damond. Noor and Harrity had not activated their body cameras, which prompted criticism over the department’s body camera policies — which have since been changed.

Following the shooting, protests erupted in the United States and in Australia, where Damond lived most of her life, with family and friends demanding answers and justice.

On Wednesday, Thomas Plunkett, one of Noor’s lawyers, welcomed the court’s decision.

“Fairness has been delivered to a person … devoted to his community,” Plunkett said in a statement sent to The Washington Post, adding that he had spoken with Noor and that he is “looking forward to hugging his son as soon as possible.”

Legal experts say the ruling could affect the case of three other former Minneapolis officers: J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, who await trail in March on charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter in George Floyd’s death. Prosecutors have sought to add charges of aiding and abetting third-degree murder.

University of St. Thomas law professor Mark Osler said in an interview Wednesday that after the court’s decision, that is highly unlikely to happen.

Former police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison after being after being convicted in April on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death.

Osler added Noor’s ruling could help Chauvin’s defense throw out the third-degree murder conviction.

Osler said Wednesday’s ruling was centered on “archaic” language in laws that should no longer be in state statutes. He added that the court’s decision, however, could help make such statute “less usable” in other police violence cases where the police target only one person.

The Washington