Legal experts predict record $13M payout for Justine Damond’s family

The family of slain Australian woman Justine Ruszczyk Damond could be in line for compensation of more than US$10 million (A$13 million) if they choose to sue the city of Minneapolis over her death at the hands of police officer Mohamed Noor, according to a report by the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper.

Noor was last week charged with Damond’s murder and manslaughter but prosecutors face a tough battle to secure a conviction, according to multiple reports of legal opinion. Noor fatally shot Damond on July 25 after he and partner partner Matthew Harrity responded to her 911 call asking officers to investigate what she believed was a sexual assault taking place in the alley behind her house.

But regardless of the outcome of Noor’s case, lawyers told the newspaper that the city itself was in a weak position to fight a civil suit, should one be brought by Damond’s Australian family and her American fiance Don Damond, because previous cases has resulted in big compensation payouts even when legal prosecutions had failed to secure a conviction. Civil cases merely require the jury to decide if the evidence favours the complainant’s side, whereas a criminal trial jury has to find the person on trial guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Legal experts interviewed by the Star Tribune said that a US$10 million settlement would break city records, and that the compensation payment could go as high as US$20 million.

Read more: Police officer finally charged over Justine Damond shooting death

Any case brought by Damond’s family would likely emphasise that Damond was not committing a crime when she was shot, that she had a long life expectancy, and that her death had deprived Don Damond of a long and happy relationship, lawyers told the newspaper. The couple were due to be married three weeks after Damond’s death. 

Damond’s family has not brought a suit yet but has secured the services of a lawyer, Robert Bennett, who has long experience in bringing police misconduct lawsuits and has won millions of dollars in settlements in the past, according to the Star Tribune.

Noor, meanwhile, was freed on US$400,000 bail within days of being days of being charged and is due back in court on May 8. NBC News reports that Noor faces a maximum of 25 years in prison if he is convicted of third-degree murder. He is also charged with second-degree manslaughter. A third-degree murder charge indicates the homicide was not deliberately planned or committed in the process of committing a felony, while second-degree manslaughter indicates that there may have been criminally negligent or reckless conduct involved in the death.

It took prosecutors eight months to bring charges after Noor refused to be interviewed about his actions on the night Damond, unarmed and wearing her pyjamas, was killed by a shot to the stomach. The county attorney blamed stonewalling by the Minneapolis police department for his difficulty in securing sufficient evidence to bring charges, saying that many officers refused to answer questions, forcing him to subpoena them to testify before a grand jury.

Both Noor and Harrity were wearing body cameras but had the cameras turned off at the time of the shooting. Damond’s death hit the headlines around the world and resulted in the city’s police chief, Janee Harteau, being ousted. But Noor’s lawyer said after the officer was charged that Noor had “acted as he has been trained and consistent with established departmental policy”.

Do you believe any amount of money is sufficient compensation for losing a loved one? Would you bring a civil case if your family member had been killed in these circumstances?