Cop’s Murder Conviction Quashed But He Faces Maximum Manslaughter Sentence Over Fatal Shooting
Minnesota Supreme Court Tosses Murder Charge
Mohamed Noor’s third-degree murder conviction and 12½-year sentence for the 2017 killing of Justine Ruszczyk Damond has been overturned. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the murder law didn’t apply because it targets “generalised indifference to human life,” not acts aimed at a specific person—as Noor’s shooting of Damond clearly was.
Judge Hits Noor With Maximum Manslaughter Term
Judge Kathryn Quaintance, who oversaw Noor’s original trial, didn’t hold back. She slapped Noor with the longest sentence allowed for his manslaughter conviction: 57 months. This was despite the defense’s plea for a lighter 41-month term.
Noor Claims Self-Defence, Victim’s Family Demands Justice
At his 2019 trial, Noor insisted he fired in fear after a loud bang on his police SUV and seeing a woman raise her arm by the driver’s window. Noor, in the passenger seat, said he reacted to what he believed was an imminent threat.
But Damond’s grieving parents slammed the decision to cut the murder charge. In a powerful statement read aloud by prosecutors, John Ruszczyk and Maryan Heffernan called their daughter’s death “utterly gratuitous.” They slammed the Supreme Court for overturning what they called a “poorly written law” and insisted the jury still saw Noor as a murderer. “Our sorrow is forever, our lives will always endure an emptiness,” they said.
What’s Next?
With good behaviour, Noor could be out on supervised release by next summer. But the family’s fight for full justice remains painfully alive.
