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Supporters of officer charged with Aussie murder claim ‘system failed him’

A supporter (left) defended the man accused of killing an Aussie woman, Justine Damond (right). Source: 7 News.

Supporters of a US police officer who has been charged with murder and manslaughter over the shooting death of Australian woman Justine Ruszczyk Damond have claimed he’s been treated “unfairly” by the justice system.

Mohamed Noor, 32, an officer in Minneapolis, faced court charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter over Justine’s death in July last year. Many people gathered at the court to support him, and speaking afterwards, one even insisted “the system had failed him”.

One supporter told 7 News reporters: “Mohamed Noor is an immigrant, African American Muslim … he’s got so many strikes … he killed a white woman, that’s why he’s there today. The system failed him.”

Noor’s bail has been set at US$500,000 and he’s been forced to hand in his passport. He’s also been banned from contacting his former partner and witness to the shooting, Officer Matthew Harrity. While prosecutors said he could be a potential flight risk, defence attorney Tom Plunkett disagreed and told Judge Kathryn Quaintance that Noor had a young family and no connections to other places, the Mail Online reports.

Read more: US officer finally charged over Aussie Justine Damond’s shooting death

Under US law, 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. The degree of charges dictate what level of penalty can be applied by the court.

Damond, a 40-year-old Australian, was shot dead by by Noor after he and his partner 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. Harrity told investigators that the officers were startled by a noise outside their police car and that Noor, who was in the passenger seat, shot across him to hit Damond as she stood by the driver’s window. Neither officer had their body camera turned on.

In revealing the charges, the county attorney’s office released more information gathered during its investigation of the killing, including that Damond suffered a single gun shot wound to her abdomen and that she immediately put her hands on the wound and said “I’m dead” or “I’m dying”. Once Harrity saw that Damond had no weapon in her hand, he got out of the police car, told Noor to reholster his gun and turn his body camera on.

Paramedics were called but Damond died at the scene.

“There is no evidence that … Officer Noor encountered, appreciated, investigated or confirmed a threat that justified the decision to use deadly force,” the charges read, according to the Star Tribune. “Instead, Officer Noor recklessly and intentionally fired his handgun from the passenger seat, a location at which he would have been less able than Officer Harrity to see and hear events on the other side of the squad car.”

Justine Ruszczyk Damond was killed just a few weeks before she was due to marry Don Damond.

Damond’s American fiance, Don Damond, and her father, John Ruszczyk released a joint statement in which they said they were pleased to see the officer charged after a wait of eight months. 

“We remain hopeful that a strong case will be presented by the prosecutor, backed by verified and detailed forensic evidence, and that this will lead to a conviction,” the statement said. “No charges can bring our Justine back. However, justice demands accountability for those responsible for recklessly killing the fellow citizens they are sworn to protect, and today’s actions reflect that.”

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