Minneapolis Cop Trial: Mohamed Noor Found Guilty Of Murder

MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder Tuesday. He has been acquitted of the second-degree murder charge.

Noor fatally shot 40-year-old bride-to-be Justine Ruszczyk Damond — originally from Sydney, Australia — on July 15, 2017 in Minneapolis.

Noor was handcuffed just after 5 p.m. Tuesday and was taken into the custody of the Hennepin County Sheriff, according to KARE 11 reporter Jennifer Austin. His sentencing has been scheduled for June 7.

"I respect the verdict rendered," Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said in a statement Tuesday evening.

"I want to extend my sincere apologies to the family and friends of Justine Ruszcyzk Damond. This was indeed a sad and tragic incident that has affected family, friends, neighbors, the City of Minneapolis and people around the world, most significantly in her home country of Australia."

Arradondo added that "As Chief, I will ensure that the MPD learns from this case and we will be in spaces to listen, learn and do all we can to help our communities in healing. Moving forward, I remain committed to all communities the MPD has taken an oath to serve by continuing to build trust by focusing on our procedural justice efforts. Through collaboration and partnerships with all of our stakeholders, I am hopeful that we will strengthen our community wellness and safety."

Damond was killed minutes after she made a 911 call to report a disturbance behind her Minneapolis home. She lived on Washburn Avenue South with her fiancé, Don Damond, 50, whom she had planned to marry in August 2017, one month after the shooting occurred.

Transcripts released by the city of Minneapolis show how Damond spent her final moments attempting to help a stranger she believed was possibly being raped.

"Hi, I'm, I can hear someone out the back and I, I'm not sure if she's having sex or being raped," she told a police dispatch at 11:27 p.m. on July 15, 2017. "It sounds like sex noises, but it's been going on for a while and I think she tried to say help and it sounds distressed."

A second transcript shows Damond calling 911 back to confirm police were on their way.

Officers Matthew Harrity and his partner Noor responded to the call.

Harrity drove their squad car into the alley on 50th Street. He turned off the headlights and dimmed the computer screen as they drove down the alley, but used his spotlight to look for people on the driver's side of the car, according to the criminal complaint.

The officers did not encounter anyone while driving through the alley. Noor entered "Code 4" into the squad computer, which communicates to dispatch they were safe and needed no assistance.

Five to ten seconds later, Harrity heard a voice as well as "a thump" somewhere behind him on the squad car, and caught a glimpse of a person's head and shoulders outside his window. He could not see whether the person was a man or woman.

He said he perceived his life was in danger, reached for his gun, unholstered it, and held it to his ribcage while pointing it downward. He said that from the driver's seat he had a better vantage point to determine a threat than Noor would have had from the passenger seat.

Harrity then heard a sound that sounded like a "light bulb dropping on the floor" and saw a flash. After first checking to see if he had been shot, he looked to his right and saw Noor with his right arm extended in the direction of Harrity, according to the criminal complaint.

Outside the squad car, Damond put her hands on a gunshot wound and said either "I'm dying" or "I'm dead," the complaint states. She died at the scene.