Minnesota high court tosses out conviction of Minneapolis police officer

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed the third-degree murder conviction of a former Minneapolis police officer. 

On July 15, 2017, Mohamed Noor fatally shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond, according to NBC News. Damond thought she heard a woman being assaulted and called 911. When officers responded to her call, she allegedly startled them before Noor fired a fatal shot. 

The reversal comes after the high court decided the case did not adequately prove that Noor had acted with a “depraved mind, without regard for human life” that the original conviction would require, according to the case’s opinion. 

Noor also was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in connection to the incident. That verdict will still stand when the former police officer is re-sentenced, the opinion said. 

That sentence will likely be between 41-57 months, a Hennepin County Attorney’s Office spokeswoman said to NBC News.

“In sum, our precedent confirms that Noor is correct in arguing that a person does not commit depraved-mind murder when the person’s actions are directed at a particular victim,” Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote in the case’s opinion. 

Hennepin County Attorney Michael O. Freeman voiced dissatisfaction in a statement about the ruling. 

“We are disappointed that the Minnesota Supreme Court chose to reverse the third-degree murder conviction of Mohamed Noor,” Freeman’s statement said. “However, we respect and acknowledge that the Minnesota Supreme Court is the final arbiter in this matter.” 

In 2019, the city of Minneapolis previously agreed to a $20 million settlement with the Damond family.