A former police officer in Minnesota has been found guilty of third-degree murder and manslaughter for fatally shooting Justine Ruszczyk Diamond while responding to her emergency call about an alleged sexual assault in 2017.
BREAKING: Mohamed Noor, a former Minneapolis police officer who killed a white woman, was found guilty of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Noor, who's Somali, is the first police officer in Minnesota to be convicted of an on-duty shooting.
— Mukhtar M. Ibrahim (@mukhtaryare) April 30, 2019
Mohamed Noor sat quietly as his fate was revealed during Tuesday's hearing, according to Minnesota Public Radio. The jury of 10 men and two women acquitted the 33-year-old of second-degree intentional murder. His sentencing is scheduled for June 7.
It took the jury less than 24 hours to find killer cop Mohamed Noor guilty of murdering Australian woman Justine Ruszczyk Damond. | @Kim_Pratt10
pic.twitter.com/GYv1bsbgZ8— 10 News First Sydney (@10NewsFirstSyd) May 1, 2019
Noor's case marks the first time in Minnesota's history that an officer has been convicted of murder for an on-duty shooting. In their first remarks following the trial, The Guardian reports Diamond's father, John, said he was "satisfied" with the decision. Diamond, 40, had moved to the United States from Australia to live with her fiancé.
As Blavity previously reported, Diamond phoned authorities on July 15, 2017, to report a possible assault outside her home. When Noor and his partner, Matthew Harrity, arrived at the scene, they could not identify a woman in despair. Harrity testified in court on April 18 and said Diamond approached the back of their patrol vehicle. Despite hearing a thump on the driver's side of the car, he did not fire any shots. Noor fired one, fatally striking the victim in her abdomen.
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Noor's verdict sparks a decision regarding racial disparities when it comes to police brutality.
We can't ignore the racial dynamics in this case. It took the killing of a white woman in a white neighborhood in Minneapolis for prosecutors to charge a black officer who is an immigrant and Muslim.
— Mukhtar M. Ibrahim (@mukhtaryare) April 30, 2019
Reactions online couldn't help but draw comparisons to the fatal shooting of Philando Castile by a police officer in July 2016, also in Minnesota. Jeronimo Yanez, the deputy who murdered the 32-year-old Black man, was acquitted of manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm charges nearly a year later on June 16, 2017. There's no denying what Noor did was wrong. However, some wondered if that same energy would be reserved for white officers accused of killing minority civilians.
Mohamed Noor is the FIRST Minnesota cop to be convicted of an on-duty shooting (no video, officers body cameras weren't on).
The cop who shot Philando Castile in Minnesota (the world saw him die on Facebook Live) was acquitted of all charges. #NoorTrial
— Clay Cane (@claycane) April 30, 2019
"Will other (white) officers be held accountable for killing civilians in Minnesota, in light of this verdict? Not likely." – Civil rights lawyer @nvlevy. pic.twitter.com/FCoDuwsjTv
— Mukhtar M. Ibrahim (@mukhtaryare) May 1, 2019
The Noor verdict is right and appropriate.
But what did Philando Castile do that was worse than Justine Damond?
Or rather, why did a jury believe Jeronimo Yanez's fear of Philando Castile, who was in his car with his family, was legitimate, but Noor's fear of Damond was not?
— John in Mpls (@johninmpls) April 30, 2019
"It's a tragedy, but it's not a crime," Noor's lawyer, Thomas Plunkett, said to jurors Monday. "An officer may use deadly force to protect themselves or others from apparent danger," he added.
CNN notes Noor could spend up to 12 and a half years behind bars for third-degree murder and four years in prison for second-degree manslaughter.
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