By Aaron Miller-
A former policeman has been found guilty of murdering an unarmed Australian woman. Mohamed Noor shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond as she approached his patrol car to report a possible rape behind her Minneapolis home on 15 July 2017.Mohamed Noor, 33, who was fired from the city’s police force following the incident, was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter yesterday.
The jury began deliberating on Monday after three weeks of testimony, and acquitted the former officer of the most serious charge of second-degree murder with intent to kill.Noor, 33, testified last week that he opened fire because he feared he and his partner were being ambushed. Ms Damond, 40, a yoga instructor from Sydney, was engaged and was due to marry a month after the shooting. The trial heard that the victim, died from a gunshot wound just over a minute after ending a phone conversation with her fiance.
She had told Don Damond that police had just arrived after she called them to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind their home. However, no such attack was ever found to have occurred. Noor took the stand last week to say he recalled seeing a blonde female in a pink T-shirt approach his squad car on the night of the shooting.
He said he believed there was an imminent threat after he heard a loud bang and saw Ms Damond with her right arm raised. Noor said his partner, Officer Matthew Harrity, shouted “Oh Jesus!” and fumbled with his gun in its holster before “he turned to me with fear in his eyes”.The defendant said he “had to make a split-second decision” and shot Ms Damond across his partner through the car window.
The death led to international criticism and Australia’s prime minister at the time, Malcolm Turnbull, said it was “inexplicable”.
Noor was handcuffed and taken into custody immediately upon being convicted by a jury on Tuesday of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was acquitted of the most serious charge of second-degree murder with intent to kill.