# Mohamed Noor *Former Minneapolis police officer convicted in the 2017 killing of Justine Damond* Mohamed Noor is a former officer of the [[Minneapolis]] Police Department. On July 15, 2017, he fired from the passenger seat of a squad car and killed Justine Damond (née Ruszczyk), 40. She had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home.[^1][^2] On April 30, 2019, a jury convicted him of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. On June 7, 2019, he was sentenced to 12.5 years.[^3] On September 15, 2021, the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] struck the third-degree murder conviction in *State v. Mohamed Noor*.[^4][^5][^6] Noor was then resentenced to 57 months on the manslaughter count.[^7] The office of [[Hennepin County Attorney]] Michael O. Freeman charged Noor in 2018. According to the project's dossier on Freeman, the same office had declined in 2016 to charge the officers in the [[Jamar Clark]] case.[^8] The project's at-issue record states that no published audit compares the two decisions.[^9] The record in the pack does not establish the office's reasons for either decision. ## Who Noor served as a Minneapolis Police Department officer.[^2] The pack's timeline describes Damond as an Australian-American yoga teacher and spiritual healer.[^1] The prosecuting office was led by Michael Orville Freeman. He was Hennepin County Attorney from January 7, 1991, to January 5, 1999, and again from January 3, 2007, to January 2, 2023.[^10][^11] Freeman had earlier served in the [[Minnesota Senate]] for District 40 from 1982 to 1991, and was Majority Whip in his second term.[^10] He lost the 1994 DFL endorsement to [[John Marty]]. He won the 1998 DFL endorsement but lost the primary to [[Skip Humphrey]].[^10][^11] The appeal was decided by the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]].[^4] ## What Damond approached the squad car in her pajamas. Noor fired across his partner from the passenger seat. The officers' body cameras were off.[^1] Freeman's office charged Noor in 2018.[^8] The jury returned convictions on two counts: third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The court imposed a 12.5-year sentence.[^3] In 2021 the Supreme Court vacated the third-degree murder conviction, and the manslaughter conviction remained.[^5][^6][^7] Sources in the pack differ on the scope of the conviction's "first" status. The project's Freeman dossier describes it as the first murder conviction of a Minnesota police officer for an on-duty killing.[^8] The pack's timeline row, drawn from Wikipedia, makes a narrower claim: Noor was the first Minneapolis Police Department officer convicted of murder in the line of duty.[^3] ## When - July 15, 2017: Damond was shot and killed.[^1] - 2018: Freeman's office brought charges, according to the dossier.[^8] - April 30, 2019: Noor was convicted.[^3] - June 7, 2019: Noor was sentenced to 12.5 years.[^3] - September 15, 2021: the Minnesota Supreme Court struck the third-degree murder conviction.[^4][^5] The pack does not give the date of the resentencing to 57 months.[^7] ## Where The shooting took place in the alley behind Damond's home in Minneapolis, [[Minnesota]].[^1] The prosecution came out of Hennepin County.[^9] The appeal was decided by the state's highest court.[^4] ## In the at-issue record At-issue item 021 addresses Noor's conviction, which it says "was the first murder conviction of a Minnesota police officer for an on-duty killing." The item notes that the conviction came out of Hennepin County. It also notes that the decision not to charge in the Jamar Clark case, two years earlier, came from the same office. The item summarizes the pair as "the same office, the same decade, opposite outputs — and no published audit of the difference."[^9] The item lists a single source. It is anchored to a March 2025 presidential action on information silos. The project's stated reason for that anchor is that "charging asymmetry inside one office, unexamined, is the silo."[^9] The project's dossier lists four police-conduct matters from Freeman's tenure:[^8][^12] - **Jamar Clark (2016):** Freeman declined to charge the officers.[^8] - **Thurman Blevins (2018):** Freeman declined to charge the officers. The dossier states that body-camera footage established that Blevins fired at officers first.[^8] - **Mohamed Noor (2018):** Freeman charged the officer.[^8] - **George Floyd (2020):** Freeman charged [[Derek Chauvin]] and three other officers.[^12] On September 11, 2020, Judge [[Peter Cahill]] disqualified Freeman and three of his staff lawyers from the Floyd cases. The disqualification followed a meeting between Freeman's staff and the [[medical examiner]], which the dossier describes as an alleged violation of attorney conduct rules.[^12] According to the dossier, Freeman nonetheless supplied "strategic advice and coordination" to the team of Attorney General [[Keith Ellison]]. That team obtained Chauvin's conviction on April 20, 2021.[^12] The dossier's account rests on sources it grades as secondary. It is reported here as the dossier's account.[^10][^11][^12] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Mohamed Noor, Minneapolis Police Department officer.[^2] - Justine Damond (née Ruszczyk), 40.[^1] - Hennepin County Attorney Michael O. Freeman (prosecuting office).[^8][^10] ### What - Fatal shooting of Damond after her 911 call reporting a possible sexual assault.[^1] - Convictions for third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.[^3] - Third-degree murder conviction struck on appeal.[^4][^7] ### When - Shooting: July 15, 2017.[^1] - Conviction: April 30, 2019.[^3] - Sentence: June 7, 2019 (12.5 years).[^3] - Supreme Court decision: September 15, 2021.[^5] - Resentence: 57 months.[^7] ### Where - Minneapolis; Hennepin County; Minnesota Supreme Court.[^1][^9][^4] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Killing of Justine Damond* (project timeline row TL-0860) — July 15, 2017 shooting; 911 call; approach to the squad car; shot fired across partner from passenger seat; body cameras off; Damond's age and occupation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Justine_Damond [^2]: Wikipedia, *Mohamed Noor* (project claim S-7975) — the subject's biography page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Noor_(police_officer [^3]: Wikipedia, *Killing of Justine Damond* (project timeline row TL-0865) — conviction April 30, 2019 on third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter; sentence of 12.5 years on June 7, 2019; first MPD officer convicted of murder in the line of duty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Justine_Damond [^4]: Minnesota Supreme Court, *State v. Mohamed Noor* (2021) — the appellate decision (project claim S-7982). The link is to the Minnesota Judicial Branch portal. https://mn.gov/courts/ [^5]: CNN, *Minnesota court vacates ex-cop Mohamed Noor's 3rd-degree murder conviction* (September 15, 2021) — date and outcome of the Supreme Court decision. https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/15/us/mohamed-noor-sentence-overturned [^6]: West Central Tribune, *Minnesota Supreme Court tosses 3rd-degree murder conviction of ex-cop Mohamed Noor* (date not in pack) — outcome of the Supreme Court decision. https://www.wctrib.com/news/minnesota-supreme-court-tosses-3rd-degree-murder-conviction-of-ex-cop-mohamed-noor [^7]: Wikipedia, *Killing of Justine Damond* (project timeline row TL-0865) — September 15, 2021 decision striking third-degree murder; resentence to 57 months on manslaughter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Justine_Damond [^8]: Wikipedia, *Michael O. Freeman* (cited in the project's Freeman dossier, §III.d, note 14) — Freeman declined to charge in Jamar Clark (2016) and Thurman Blevins (2018); charged Mohamed Noor (2018); dossier's description of the first on-duty murder conviction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_O._Freeman [^9]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — presidential action used as the anchor for at-issue item 021 and its stated rationale. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^10]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Michael O. Freeman* legislator record (n.d.) — Senate District 40, 1982–1991; Majority Whip; career line cited in dossier note 14. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10197 [^11]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Finding aid 00531* (n.d.) — source cited in dossier note 14 for Freeman's career and county attorney tenure. https://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00531.xml [^12]: Wikipedia, *Michael O. Freeman* (cited in the project's Freeman dossier, §III.d, note 14) — Chauvin and three officers charged (2020); September 11, 2020 disqualification by Judge Cahill; Ellison team's conviction of Chauvin, April 20, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_O._Freeman