Minnesota court vacates ex-cop Mohamed Noor's 3rd-degree murder conviction
Quote:
Minnesota's highest court on Wednesday vacated former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor's third-degree murder conviction for the fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk while responding to her 911.
The court said there was insufficient evidence to sustain the conviction and ordered that he be sentenced on his conviction for second-degree manslaughter.
The 33-year-old Somali American was convicted in April of that year on charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter in the 2017 death of Ruszczyk, who had relocated from her native Australia to Minneapolis to live with her fiancé.
Prosecutors said Noor was sitting in the passenger seat, pulled out his gun and shot across the vehicle to hit Ruszczyk, who was outside the driver's side door.
Noor testified that his partner's terrified expression and the sight of Ruszczyk with her hand raised jolted him into action. Although he did not see a gun in the woman's hand, he feared his partner might be shot as she began to raise her hand, he said.
Ruszczyk's death drew widespread attention, in the United States and in her native Australia.
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