Minnesota Supreme Court OVERTURNS murder conviction of Minneapolis rookie cop who shot dead Australian yoga teacher Justine Damond after she called 911 and orders judge to reduce his 12.5-year sentence

  • Mohamed Noor shot dead Justine Ruszczyk in 2017 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • She had called 911 to report a woman screaming in the alley beside her house
  • When Noor arrived with his partner, she approached the patrol car from behind
  • He opened fire on her, shooting her dead from the window of the car 
  • His attorneys said at trial that she startled him when she appeared at the side of the squad car with a 'thump' 
  • A jury convicted him of 3rd degree 'depraved mind' murder and 2nd degree manslaughter
  • His attorneys argued the 'depraved mind' definition which, in Minnesota law, says he put 'others' in danger 
  • They said he did not because he shot a single target - Ruszczyk - and was doing his job 
  • The State Supreme Court agreed and vacated the conviction; now he will be resentenced
  • Noor is currently serving a 12.5 year sentence - half of the maximum he faced 
  • The maximum he could be resentence to is ten years - of which he's served 2

By Jennifer Smith For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

Minnesota's Supreme Court has overturned the murder conviction of rookie Minneapolis cop Mohamed Noor on a legal technicality and ordered his sentence to be reduced, four years after he shot dead Australian-American woman Justine Damond outside her home. 

The court upheld Noor's manslaughter conviction and ordered him to be resentenced, agreeing with his attorneys on a technicality that the specific wording of the 'depraved mind' murder charge he was convicted of.  

He is currently two years into a 12.5 year sentence. It's unclear how much his sentence will be lowered by, but it is likely to be less than the ten years he was facing. 

Ten years is the maximum sentence for second degree manslaughter. There is no minimum.  

Noor's lawyers said he was scared when the 40-year-old yoga teacher appeared at the window of his squad car with a 'thump'.  

She had called 911 claiming to have heard a woman screaming in the alley beside her home. She feared it was a sexual assault and ran outside when the cop car arrived, approaching it from behind. 

Noor pulled his trigger, killing her at the scene. He never testified, nor was he interviewed by police. The only information his attorneys gave was that he may have been scared of her - even though she was unarmed.  

In 2019, Minneapolis cop Mohamed Noor shot dead Justine Ruszczyk, an Australian-American woman who called 911. He was convicted of murder but had the conviction overturned on Wednesday
In 2019, Minneapolis cop Mohamed Noor shot dead Justine Ruszczyk, an Australian-American woman who called 911. He was convicted of murder but had the conviction overturned on Wednesday

In 2019, Minneapolis cop Mohamed Noor shot dead Justine Ruszczyk, an Australian-American woman who called 911. He was convicted of murder but had the conviction overturned on Wednesday

Ruszczyk had called the police on the night of July 15, 2017, after hearing a woman screaming near her home. 

As she approached the police vehicle, Noor fired his gun at her from the passenger seat. 

There is no bodycam of the actual shooting but there is of what happened next - when Noor's partner told him to 'keep his mouth shut'.  

The Supreme Court justices ruled that the 'depraved mind' portion of the murder charge was not fitting. 

His attorney focused on the legal wording of the 'depraved mind' section of the charge, which specifies he was acting in a way that put 'others' in danger. 

His attorneys claimed that he wasn't, because he was a cop and doing his duty. 

'Noor was carrying out his duties as an officer, acted in a split second and directed his actions at a specific person out of fear that his partner's life was in danger from an ambush,' he said.

The Supreme Court judges agreed. The victim's family have not yet reacted to the court's decision. 

In their defense of him at trial, Noor's attorneys said he was just doing his job. 

Neither Noor nor his partner had their body cameras turned on for the shooting but Noor is shown afterwards, with his head in his hands, while his partner tells him to keep his mouth 'shut'

Neither Noor nor his partner had their body cameras turned on for the shooting but Noor is shown afterwards, with his head in his hands, while his partner tells him to keep his mouth 'shut' 

Damond is pictured with her fiance Don. She had both American and Australian citizenship

Damond is pictured with her fiance Don. She had both American and Australian citizenship

The home in Minneapolis where Damond lived with her fiancé in 2017. She ran out of it after hearing screams from the alley and approached a cop car

The home in Minneapolis where Damond lived with her fiancé in 2017. She ran out of it after hearing screams from the alley and approached a cop car 

'Mr Noor reacted to a dark alley in the middle of the night, a thump on the squad, a voice, a body appearing at the driver's side window, the startled announcement of fear by Officer Harrity as he reached for his firearm, and his observation that the person in the window was raising their right arm. 

'A prison sentence only punishes Mr. Noor for a culture that he didn't create and, by all accounts, a culture that he would have liked to see change himself.

'What really caused this (tragedy) is the fear that continues to permeate our society. 

'The police are afraid of the people, the people are afraid of the police,' attorney Thomas Blunkett said.

Damond's family won a $20million settlement from The City of Minneapolis after filing a wrongful death lawsuit.

Her fiance, Don Damond, last year condemned the Minneapolis Police Department for not doing more to change the culture within the department after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Derek Chauvin.

'Other than body camera policy, can you point to what has changed? Can you point to anything that has changed? I can’t,' he said in an interview last year. 

Justine Damond's father John is shown with his wife. They have not yet reacted to the court's decision to overturn Noor's murder conviction

Justine Damond's father John is shown with his wife. They have not yet reacted to the court's decision to overturn Noor's murder conviction 

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