MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed an unarmed woman who called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in the alleyway behind her home was released on Monday, months later. his murder conviction was quashed and he was resented on a lower charge.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections website said Mohamed Noor, 36, was under the supervision of Hennepin County Community Corrections. He was released 18 days before the fifth anniversary of the fatal shooting of July 15, 2017 Justine Ruszczyk Damonda 40-year-old dual US-Australian citizen and yoga teacher who was engaged to be married.
Corrections Department spokesman Nicholas Kimball confirmed that Noor was released Monday morning. He said he could not confirm where Noor will live, but released offenders are generally supervised by the county where they live. He said Noor was held in North Dakota for most of his sentence and had no disciplinary issues in prison.
Noor’s attorney, Thomas Plunkett, did not immediately call back to request comment. On Friday he said he wanted to respect Noor’s privacy.
Noor was initially convicted of second-degree manslaughter and manslaughter, but last year the Minnesota Supreme Court… threw away his murder conviction and 12 1/2 years in prison, saying the charges did not apply to the case. He was sentenced to four years and nine months on the charge of manslaughter.
In Minnesota, it is believed that a well-conducted defendant will serve two-thirds of a prison sentence and the remainder on probation. Noor will be released under surveillance until January 24, 2024.
Damond’s stepmother, Maryan Heffernan, said in a telephone interview Friday that the timing of Noor’s release – so close to the anniversary of Damond’s death – was painful.
“We are very disappointed. But we are not surprised. We watched events in Minneapolis from miles away and we’re still baffled about the charges being dropped and we’re still baffled by the culture of the Minneapolis Police Department,” Heffernan said.
Noor testified in 2019 that he and his partner were driving slowly down an alley when a loud bang on their police SUV left him fearing for their lives. He said a woman appeared at the driver’s side window of the partner and raised her right arm before firing a shot from the passenger seat to stop what he thought was a threat.
Noor, a Somali American, was believed to be the first Minnesota officer to be convicted of murder for an on-duty shooting. Since the conviction of Noor, former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, was convicted of murder in the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, a black man pinned to the sidewalk below Chauvin’s knee. After Norwegian conviction, Minneapolis agreed to pay $20 million to Damond’s family.