Noor Trial Now In Jury's Hands After Closing Arguments
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The case of Mohamed Noor is now in the jury's hands after closing arguments wrapped up Monday afternoon.
The sequestered jury finished first-day deliberations Monday evening and will resume Tuesday morning.
Mohamed Noor, 33, is on trial for murder and manslaughter for the 2017 shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond after she called 911 to report a possible assault in the alley behind her south Minneapolis home. The defense has argued that Noor and his partner were startled by a noise and feared an ambush.
On Monday morning, attorney Amy Sweasy delivered closing arguments for the prosecution. In part, she said no recovering or healing can be done because Damond is dead. She said mistakes were made and that Noor acted recklessly with intent to kill.
Sweasy also showed video of the moments after the shooting where Damond can be heard screaming. She also showed body cam video to make her point that there was a lot of confusion following the shooting where nobody seemed to know who fired the deadly shot. She also said Noor's inexperience led to Damond's death.
Defense attorney Thomas Plunkett closing arguments were very dramatic, yelling and slamming his hands on the desk, saying that's how fast Noor had to react. He asked the jury to judge Noor only by his actions in that moment, because that's all that matters.
After closing arguments, the judge took the time to thank families of Damond and Noor for showing dignity and grace during the trial. She also thanked the attorneys for what she called a "clean trial".
The jury is deliberating and will consider three charges. They include second-degree murder with intent but no premeditation and third-degree murder, which is a rarely used charged that would require the jury to find Noor acted with a "depraved" mind.
Noor is also charged with second-degree manslaughter, which would require the jury to find that he acted with "culpable negligence" and created an "unreasonable risk" of causing death or great bodily harm.
RELATED: Key Points In The Mohamed Noor Trial
Former prosecutor and well-known defense attorney Marsh Halber sat through much of the trail. He was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning. A key point, he said, is that Minnesota law allows officers to use deadly force if they perceive a threat.
Noor and his partner, Matthew Harrity, say the sound of a slap on the squad car startled them. The prosecution has argued the slap never happened.
The trial began on Monday, April 1.
Check back with WCCO for the latest updates.
