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A former policeman in the US state of Minnesota has been sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison for fatally shooting an unarmed woman who was trying to report a possible crime.
Mohamed Noor shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond as she approached his patrol car to report a possible rape behind her Minneapolis home in July 2017.
He said the shooting was a mistake.
In court, Ms Damond’s father, John Ruszczyk, called the killing “an obscene act by an agent of the state”.
“Justine’s death has left me incomplete – it is as if I have lost a limb or a leg,” he said in an impact statement.
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Reuters
Ms Damond was due to marry a month after the shooting
Ms Damond’s fiancee, Don Damond, read an emotional statement addressed directly to her.
“Dear Justine, I miss you so much every day, every moment,” he said. “I don’t understand how such a thing could happen to you and to us.”
Noor is the first Minnesota police officer to be found guilty of murder for an on-duty shooting. At his sentencing on Friday, the 33-year-old apologised for taking Ms Damond’s life.
“I caused this tragedy and it is my burden,” he told the court. “I wish though that I could relieve that burden others feel from the loss that I caused. I cannot, and that is a troubling reality for me.”
Some in the Somali-American community – Noor is Somali – have argued that the case was treated differently than police shootings involving white officers and black victims.
Activists outside the courthouse Friday carried signs reading “No double standard” and “NOOR: Victim of Identity Politics.”
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AFP
Some Somali-Americans protested at the court
Noor said he opened fire on the 40-year-old yoga instructor because he feared that he and his partner were being ambushed.
He said he made the “split-second decision” after hearing a loud bang and seeing Ms Damond with her right arm raised.
The police officers had been called to the area to respond to a 911 call made by Ms Damond about the suspected sexual assault.
Noor was convicted in April of second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder, but acquitted of the most serious charge of second-degree murder with intent to kill.
Ms Damond, a US-Australian dual citizen originally from Sydney, was engaged and due to marry a month after the shooting.
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She had adopted the surname of her fiancé, Don Damond, ahead of their wedding.
Her death drew international criticism, with Australia’s then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull describing it as “inexplicable”.
Her family was promised $20m (£15.5m) in compensation by the US city of Minneapolis last month. They said they would donate $2m towards fighting gun crime.
Ex-US policeman jailed for Australian"s murder
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