MINNEAPOLIS -- The former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman who called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home is scheduled to be released from prison this week, months after his murder conviction was overturned and he was resentenced on a lesser charge.
Mohamed Noor, 36, is scheduled to be released from custody Monday, 18 days shy of the fifth anniversary of the July 15, 2017, fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a 40-year-old dual U.S.-Australian citizen and yoga teacher who was engaged to be married.
Noor was initially convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter, but last year the Minnesota Supreme Court tossed out his murder conviction and 12½-year sentence, saying the murder charge didn't apply to the circumstances of this case. He was resentenced to four years and nine months on the manslaughter charge.
In Minnesota, it's presumed that a defendant with good behavior will serve two-thirds of a sentence in prison and the rest on supervised release, commonly known as parole. The DOC's website says Noor will be on supervised release until Jan. 24, 2024.
Damond's father, John Ruszczyk, said Friday that the family was disappointed that Noor's third-degree murder conviction was overturned.
"His release after a trivial sentence shows great disrespect to the wishes of the jury who represented the communities of Minneapolis and their wish to make a statement about the communities' expectations of police behaviour and actions," Ruszczyk wrote in response to emailed questions from reporters.
Damond's stepmother, Maryan Heffernan, said in a phone interview that the timing of Noor's release -- so close to the anniversary of Damond's death -- is painful.
"We're very disappointed. But we're not surprised. We've been watching events in Minneapolis from miles away and we're still bewildered about the charge being dropped and we're still bewildered about the culture of the Minneapolis Police Department," Heffernan said, adding that she believes Noor was the product of a "very dysfunctional department."
After his conviction, Noor began serving his time at Minnesota's maximum-security prison in Oak Park Heights, but the Star Tribune reported he was transferred to a facility in North Dakota in July 2019 for his own safety. Department of Corrections spokesman Nicholas Kimball said Noor is still out of state but did not specify where.
"For safety reasons, we aren't able to provide more detail than what is available on the public website, which is the scheduled date of release," Kimball said.
It wasn't clear whether Noor would return to Minnesota. His attorney, Tom Plunkett, declined to comment, saying, "at this point I just want to respect Mr. Noor's privacy."
Damond's killing angered citizens in the U.S. and Australia, and led to the resignation of Minneapolis' police chief. It also led the department to change its policy on body cameras.
Noor and his partner didn't have theirs activated when they were investigating Damond's 911 call.
Days after Noor's conviction, Minneapolis agreed to pay $20 million to Damond's family.