MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman after she called 911 to report a possible rape behind her home has been sentenced to 57 months in prison.
That sentencing was the maximum term possible under the state of Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines.
Mohamed Noor was initially convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter in the 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a dual U.S.-Australian citizen.
At his 2019 trial, Noor testified that he and his partner were driving slowly in an alley when a loud bang on their police SUV made him fear for their lives. He claimed he saw a woman appear at their driver’s side window and raise her right arm before he fired a shot to stop what he thought was a threat, The Associated Press reports.
Noor was initially sentenced to 12 1/2 years on the murder count in that trial.
But the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled last month that the third-degree murder statute wouldn’t apply to Noor’s case, so that conviction was thrown out and a new sentencing was ordered for manslaughter. That hearing happened Thursday.
The AP reports that Noor has already served 29 months and that in Minnesota, inmates who behave well typically serve two-thirds of their prison sentences, with the remainder in a supervised release.