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A former Minneapolis policeman was convicted of third-degree murder on Tuesday in the murder of an unarmed woman in 2017, according to the New York Times.
Noor was convicted on Tuesday for shooting Justine Ruszczyk, an American and Australian citizen, the first police officer in Minnesota in decades to be sentenced for a deadly shooting in service. In addition to third degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of 25 years, Noor was also convicted of second degree manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.
Noor had refused to tell investigators why he had shot Ruszczyk on the night of July 15, 2017 and had discussed the shooting for the first time during the trial, telling the court that he had shot at her while He saw her approaching her car and fearing for her life. . "I fired a shot," he said, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "The threat was gone. She could have had a weapon.
Ruszczyk, who had called 911 twice that night to tell what she thought was a sexual assault behind her house, was holding a cell phone when Noor shot her, according to the Times.
The shooting has spoiled many of the dynamics generally at play in the controversies surrounding shootings involving officers, as Noor is a Somali American while Ruszczyk was white. This case resulted in the resignation of municipal police chief Janee Harteau, while then-mayor Betsy Hodges (D) said: "I have lost confidence in the chief's ability to drive us further. " Hodges lost his re-election bid later in the year.
Mayor Jacob Frey (D) welcomed the verdict, but added that the city "will stand alongside our Somali community," according to the Times.
"If today's verdict can put an end to some debates, it will also serve to remind us how much we need to go to build trust where it has been broken," Frey said. "We must recognize that historic and ongoing racialized traumas continue to impact our society."
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