Mohamed Noor, the Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond, an unarmed Australian native who called 911 to report a possible sexual assault near her home, was found guilty of third-degree murder on Tuesday.
Noor, was also found guilty of manslaughter in Damond’s July 2017 death, the Associated Press reports.
The two-year veteran was acquitted, however, of his most serious charge, intentional second-degree murder.
Noor now faces up to 15 years in prison for the murder conviction and almost five years for manslaughter.
Damond’s death sparked outrage across the U.S. and Australia. The life coach was engaged and supposed to be married one month after the shooting.
Noor and his partner, Matthew Harrity, responded to the call about the assault and had just arrived when Noor claimed he heard a loud bang on the squad car, which scared his partner. He testified that he saw a woman raising her arm by his partner’s window, and fired his weapon, fearing for Harrity’s safety.
Prosecutors questioned whether or not the noise Noor allegedly heard was real, pointing out that neither men mentioned it to investigators at the scene. Harrity only mentioned it three days later while speaking to investigators.
Prosecutors also questioned Noor for firing his weapon without seeing a weapon or Damond’s hands, the AP notes.
Neither officer had their body cameras running at the time.
Prior to the shooting, Noor was celebrated as his precinct’s first Somali-American officer. After he was charged, he was fired.
Damond’s father, John Ruszczyk, expressed satisfaction with the jury’s decision.
“Justine was killed by a police officer, an agent of the state,” he said. “We believe he was properly charged with a crime.”
