SAINT PAUL – A former policeman in the US state of Minnesota has been sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison for fatally shooting an unarmed woman who was trying to report a possible crime.
Mohamed Noor shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond as she approached his patrol car to report a possible rape behind her Minneapolis home in July 2017.
He said the shooting was a mistake. In court, Damond’s father, John Ruszczyk, called the killing “an obscene act by an agent of the state”.
“Justine’s death has left me incomplete – it is as if I have lost a limb or a leg,” he said.Damond’s fiancee, Don Damond, read an emotional statement addressed directly to her.
“Dear Justine, I miss you so much every day, every moment,” he said. “I don’t understand how such a thing could happen to you and to us.”
Noor is the first Minnesota police officer to be found guilty of murder for an on-duty shooting. At his sentencing yesterday, the 33-year-old apologised for taking Damond’s life.
“I caused this tragedy and it is my burden,” he said. “I wish though that I could relieve that burden others feel from the loss that I caused. I cannot, and that is a troubling reality for me.” (BBC)
