Shari L. Gross Video (03:11): In March, 2018, Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor was charged with murder and manslaughter in the July shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a decision that prosecutors said was delayed by some of the officer's colleagues' reluctance to testify. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Mohamed Noor, 32, acted “recklessly” when he fired the shot into the dark that killed 40-year-old Justine Ruszczyk Damond after she called 911 to report a suspected rape in her south Minneapolis neighborhood. He recalled her saying, “I’m dying,” or “I’m dead.”

Freeman said the investigation of the shooting uncovered no evidence that Noor “encountered, appreciated, investigated or confirmed a threat that justified the decision to use deadly force.”

“Instead, officer Noor recklessly and intentionally fired his handgun from the passenger seat, a location at which he would have been less able than officer Harrity to see and hear events on the other side of the squad car,” Freeman said. The shooting drew condemnation in Minnesota and Australia, where Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called it “shocking” and “inexplicable.” Then-Minneapolis police chief Jamee Harteau resigned after city officials said procedures had been violated and Damond “didn’t have to die.”

The third-degree murder charge accused Noor of committing an “eminently dangerous act” and showing a “depraved mind,” and the second-degree manslaughter charge cited “culpable negligence creating unreasonable risk,” the records showed. Neither Noor's attorney, Tom Plunkett, nor the head of the Minneapolis Police Union, Bob Kroll, could immediately be reached for comment. Damond’s fiance, Don Damond, and her father, John Ruszczyk, issued a joint statement in which they praised the decision to charge Noor and hoped it resulted in a conviction, calling it “one step toward justice for this iniquitous act.”

“No charges can bring our Justine back. However, justice demands accountability for those responsible for recklessly killing the fellow citizens they are sworn to protect, and today’s actions reflect that.”

The charges against an officer in a shooting death would be the second such recent case in Minnesota. Five to 10 seconds later, Harrity heard a voice, a thump somewhere behind him on the squad car, “and caught a glimpse of a person’s head and shoulders outside his window.”

“Officer Harrity said he was startled and said, ‘Oh sh*t or Oh Jesus.’ ” Fearing for his life, Harrity said that he reached for his gun, unholstered it, and held it to his rib cage while pointing it downward.
Minneapolis Police formally charge Mohamed Noor with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the shooting death of Justine Damond.