Washington - A former police officer in the US city of
Minneapolis was sentenced on Friday to 12 years and six months in
prison for fatally shooting an Australian woman who had called police
for help, according to news reports.
Mohamed Noor, 33, a Somali immigrant, was found guilty in April of
third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the July 15,
2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, 40, who was unarmed. Damond
had called police to report that she thought another woman was being
sexually assaulted in the alley behind her home.
Noor must serve two-thirds of his sentence before he will be eligible
for parole, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
The shooting sparked outrage, particularly in the victim's home
country of Australia.
It also led to the resignation of the city's police chief and changes
in procedures on police body cameras. Neither Noor nor his partner
had activated theirs on the night of the shooting.
A poster of Justine Ruszczyk Damond is displayed at a news conference by attorneys for her family in Minneapolis. File picture: Amy Forliti/AP
Noor, who had been on the job for two years, responded to Damond's
call together with his partner. Noor said during his testimony that
he fired one shot after hearing a noise on the side of the squad car
that he thought was a threat.
Muna Abdi of Minneapolis stands outside the courtroom during the sentencing of Mohamed Noor. A jury convicted Noor in April of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the July 2017 death of Damond, a 40-year-old dual citizen of the US and Australia. Noor shot Damond when she approached his squad car in the alley behind her home. Abdi said Noor was treated differently because he is a black Muslim and she wanted to stand in solidarity with him. Picture: Amy Forliti/AP
"I caused this tragedy and it is my burden," he said in court on
Friday, according to the Star Tribune.
Damond was about to get married when she was killed. Her fiancee, Don
Damond, said in a statement that he missed her every day and didn't
understand how such a thing could happen to them.