City of Minneapolis
The trial of former Minneapolis police officer, Mohamed Noor, in the killing of Justine Damond, is drawing to a close.
The closing arguments from the prosecution and defense is expected to go ahead, after Noor himself took to the stand on Thursday and Friday to speak for the first time about the night of July 15, 2017, when he fatally shot the 40-year-old in the Fulton neighborhood of Minneapolis.
Damond had called police to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home, and both Noor and his partner Matthew Harrity have testified during the trial that they hears a "thump" on their vehicle prior to the shooting.
During his testimony, per MPR, Noor said he had to make a "split-second" decision to shoot that night, believing there was a threat to both himself and his partner.
Harrity himself had reached for his weapon after they heard the noise outside their squad car, and Noor then says he saw a blonde woman in a pink shirt raising her arm, though admitted he hadn't seen her hands.
Noor said his partner said "Oh Jesus" before he opened fire.
After realizing who he'd shot, Noor said that he felt like his "whole world came crashing down," according to the Star Tribune, which notes that Noor's defense team is arguing that the bang on the officers' squad car was sufficient to cause the pair to fear for their lives.
Use of force experts presented by the prosecution on the other hand criticized Noor's decision to fire, with MPR noting one of them saying no "reasonable" officer would have perceived a threat.
The 33-year-old Noor faces charges of 2nd-degree intentional murder, 3rd-degree murder and manslaughter in Damond's killing.
Harrity had testified on Apr. 18, describing how he had heard the noise prior to the shooting, and saw a silhouette and feared an ambush, per the Associated Press.
Body cam footage from immediately after the shooting (Noor and Harrity didn't have their body cameras active when the shot was fired) was also played on the day of Harrity's testimony, and showed Damond's last breaths from up close as officers attempted CPR.
