Ex-cop Noor returns to court, but no plea in Ruszczyk killing
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Updated: 10:30 a.m. | Posted: 5:49 a.m.
Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor returned to court on Tuesday but entered no plea in the charges against him for the July killing of 911 caller Justine Ruszczyk.
Noor's defense attorneys asked to work with prosecutors to schedule future court hearings. Defense attorney Thomas Plunkett also told the judge that he expects to file motions in the case. The hearing, Noor's second in Hennepin County District Court, was over after just a few minutes.
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Noor is charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Ruszczyk, known professionally as Justine Damond. A document filed last month indicated that Noor planned to plead not guilty.
The courtroom Tuesday was packed with reporters and Noor supporters. Some had to wait in the hallway because all four rows of seats were taken.
After the hearing, a scrum of reporters, including some from Ruszczyk's native Australia, followed Noor and his attorneys out of the government center and across the street.
Noor was one of two officers who responded to a 911 call that Ruszczyk made on the night of July 15 after she thought she heard a woman being assaulted.
Noor and officer Matthew Harrity drove through the alley behind Ruszczyk's home in the Fulton neighborhood. Harrity told investigators he was startled by a sound outside the squad car — a search warrant filed during the investigation described a woman slapping the squad car. Harrity told investigators he then saw Ruszczyk appear near the driver's side window.
Noor fired his weapon from the passenger's seat, through the open driver's side window, hitting Ruszczyk. The officers' incident log released by the city shows the incident's status changing to "shooting" less than a half a minute after the officers arrived.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office reported that Ruszczyk died after a single gunshot wound to her abdomen.
Neither officer turned their body cameras on in time to capture the shooting, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Squad cameras were also not activated.
Minneapolis police asked the BCA to investigate the shooting. Harrity spoke to investigators but Noor has declined to be interviewed. Noor is no longer on the force. Harrity was initially on administrative leave but has returned to work since the shooting.
