From the BBC:
“Justine Damond: US policeman
guilty of Australian's murder”
A former policeman in the US
state of Minnesota has been found guilty of murdering an unarmed Australian
woman. Mohamed Noor shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond as she approached his patrol
car to report a possible rape behind her Minneapolis home on 15 July 2017. Noor,
33, testified last week that he opened fire because he feared he and his
partner were being ambushed. Ms Damond, 40, a yoga instructor from Sydney, was
engaged and was due to marry a month after the shooting. The death drew
international criticism and Australia's prime minister at the time, Malcolm
Turnbull, said it was "inexplicable". Noor was handcuffed and taken
into custody immediately upon being convicted by a jury on Tuesday of third-degree
murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was acquitted of the most serious
charge of second-degree murder with intent to kill. The trial heard the victim,
a dual US-Australian citizen, lay dying from a gunshot wound just over a minute
after ending a phone conversation with her fiance. She had told Don Damond that
police had just arrived after she called them to report a possible sexual
assault in the alley behind their home. No such attack was ever found to have
occurred. Noor took the stand last week to say he recalled seeing a blonde
female in a pink T-shirt approach his squad car on the night of the shooting. He
said he believed there was an imminent threat after he heard a loud bang and
saw Ms Damond with her right arm raised. Noor said his partner, Officer Matthew
Harrity, shouted "Oh Jesus!" and fumbled with his gun in its holster
before "he turned to me with fear in his eyes". The defendant said he
"had to make a split-second decision" and shot Ms Damond across his
partner through the car window. Justine Damond's family hold a silent vigil at
a beach in Sydney last year Noor told the court that upon realising he had shot
an unarmed woman he "felt like my whole world came crashing down". Prosecutors
questioned whether the loud bang was real, pointing out that neither Noor nor
his partner initially mentioned anything at the scene about hearing such a
noise. Ms Damond's fingerprints were not found on the squad car, the court
heard. She had moved to the Midwestern city to marry her boyfriend, Don Damond,
and had adopted his surname ahead of their nuptials. Mr Damond was in Las
Vegas, Nevada, when investigators called him to say she was dead. Noor joined the police force in 2015 He told the court he learned from a second
phone call that she had been shot by a police officer. Mr Damond said
contacting her family in Australia to tell them the news was the "worst
phone call" he ever had to make. Noor
is a former Somalian refugee whose family moved to the US and settled in
Minneapolis. He joined the police force in 2015, but was sacked after being
charged in the shooting. The fallout also cost Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé
Harteau her job and was a factor in the election defeat of the city's mayor a
few months later. The Damond family have filed a civil lawsuit against the city
and several police officers seeking $50m (£38m) in damages. Minneapolis Police
Chief Medaria Arradondo apologised to Damond's friends and family in a
statement released after Tuesday's verdict was read. "This was indeed a
sad and tragic incident that has affected family, friends, neighbours, the City
of Minneapolis and people around the world, most significantly in her home
country of Australia," he said.
^ This shows that American
justice isn’t always blind (especially when it involves a cop.) It also shows
that those that mishandle or try to cover-up a case find themselves without a
job (ie. the Police Chief and the Mayor.) ^
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