Could Derek Chauvin Be Next? Court Vacates Ex-Minneapolis Cop’s Third-Degree Murder Conviction

The Minnesota Supreme Court reversed a murder conviction Wednesday against former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor. The state’s first Somali-American cop — who was reportedly rushed through training by liberal city leadership — shot and killed Justine Ruszczyk in a 2017 tragedy that garnered international attention.

Minnesota Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, penning the unanimous opinion, said evidence used to convict Noor of third-degree “depraved-mind” murder does not hold up against state law, which says depraved-mind murder only occurs when someone perpetrates an act “eminently dangerous to others” and “without regard for human life.”

“The mental state necessary for depraved-mind murder is a generalized indifference to human life, which cannot exist when the defendant’s conduct is directed with particularity at the person who is killed,” reads the edict. “The only reasonable inference that can be drawn from the circumstances proved is that [Noor’s] conduct was directed with particularity at the person who was killed, and the evidence is therefore insufficient to sustain his conviction for depraved-mind murder.”

Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years in jail in June 2019 after he responded to Ruszczyk’s 911 call about an alleged sexual assault near her home. Ruszczyk had approached the police vehicle that arrived on the scene when Noor shot her in the abdomen. He was sitting in the passenger seat and said he considered her approach a potential ambush. – READ MORE