MN appeals court upholds Mohamed Noor's murder conviction in Justine Damond's death
City of Minneapolis
The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday upheld former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor's third-degree murder conviction in the death of Justine Damond (nee Ruszczyk) in July 2017.
A jury in April 2019 convicted Noor of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Damond after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault. He was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
In court documents, Noor's attorneys challenged the third-degree murder conviction, saying the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's verdict and insufficient to prove that his use of deadly force was not authorized by state law.
The court's 47-page opinion released Monday, Feb. 1, affirms Noor's conviction, finding a third-degree murder conviction under state law may be sustained "even though his death-causing act was the result of a split-second decision directed at the person outside of the squad car's window" and the reckless nature of Noor's action may establish that he acted with a depraved mind within the meaning of state law (which are both included in the definition of third-degree murder).
The appeals court also ruled Noor isn't entitled to a new trial.
It is not yet known if Noor will appeal this decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
