Ex-officer who killed 911 caller to be released

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 next 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, according to online Department

of Corrections records.

Noor was initially convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter in the 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. But last year, the Minnesota Supreme Court tossed out his murder conviction and 121/2-year sentence, saying the murder charge didn't apply to the circumstances of this case.

He was resentenced to 4 years and 9 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 thirddegree 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 The Associated Press.

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.