Minority cops need to understand that the immunity granted to white cops do not extend to them. Certainly not when the victim is white, if the victim is black well… maybe see Philando Castile.
I’m torn on this one. First the body camera policy needs to be rewritten. Second we’ve all seen the pratice shooting where the trainee is confronted with targets popping up and it takes a split second to decide it’s a bad guy or not. And then finally all these years of cops bitching about witnesses not coming forward will be haunted by what happened here. If you see/hear something you’re suppose to say something, and when the cops arrive I guess act like a suspect.
The cop was wrong and deserved to be convicted of manslaughter (not sure what 3rd Degree murder is in Minnesota).
If a few more of these minority cops find themselves spending time behind bars, maybe they will start thinking about whether it is worth it for them to continue to lie so white cops can get away with crimes for which they go to jail so the public can be given a sacrificial lamb or two.
it’s important to cover police shootings, especially of unarmed civilians. i hope there’s some discussion of the idea that the officer fared worse because he’s non-white himself.
and a small editorial tip–don’t be in such a hurry to file your stories. the last sentence sure looks like it’s leftover from an earlier story.
609.195 MURDER IN THE THIRD DEGREE.
(a) Whoever, without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life, is guilty of murder in the third degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 25 years.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.195
Not sure what the conflict is. A perfectly innocent woman is dead because and individual who was being paid to protect her shot her instead because he believed that anyone not in uniform is a risk and that better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6. The fact that if the victim had been black or the cop white the jury result would have been different is irrelevant, Mohamed Noor belongs in prison.
I am not denying that this a bad shoot. I’m questioning the training, I’m questioning the body camera policy, and I’m questioning the public’s safety when reporting a crime. I believe they’re all valid concerns.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. There is no reason in the world why every police officer should not be on camera at all times. There is no interaction they have with the public that should not be available to internal, and when necessary, external review.
It is both the surest defense of the public against abuse of police authority and the most certain defense of officers against false allegations of brutality.
Noor testifies:
Noor said he rose from his seat, pressed his left arm against Harrity’s chest and saw a blonde woman in a pink T-shirt raising her right arm outside Harrity’s open window.
“I fired one shot,” he said. “The threat was gone. She could have had a weapon.”
I know what you’re saying but a woman called 911 and a woman in a pink top and long blonde hair approaches your squad car, you should maybe actually wait to determine if she is a threat first.
That and there were just too many inconsistencies as their stories developed and time went on. Read the link to see what I mean.
Fortunately, she was white… otherwise this wouldn’t have even made the news.
Oh I’m not disagreeing with the trial’s outcome. I just think it’s damn shame that woman who was trying to do the right thing was killed by a poorly trained officer. That this may make it harder for someone to feel comfortable to report something suspicious, especially at night.
The conflict is that it takes (perhaps) prejudice against a Somali cop to get what should ALWAYS be the correct outcome in unwarranted civilian shootings. So getting the right result for the wrong reason. So no confidence that the next unwarranted shooting will get the right outcome; no evidence we are getting more things right.
Hmm, what could possibly set this case apart from other cop shootings…hmm I wonder?!
Yeah, I’d think that answering a call about overhearing a rape means that you could expect someone who called would actually be waiting for the cop. And it’s highly unlikely that the perpetrator would be wearing pink, have blonde hair, and you know, be a woman.
The training is the source of all problems. They overemphasize the use of guns. Worse the paramilitary training that many departments encourage complete with military style uniforms encourage shooting of civilians. We need to step back and take away high capacity weapons from cops, better yet make most of them unarmed. Make them wear more traditional constable uniforms and you will see less shootings. It will have the added bonus that cops will support all kinds of gun control.
Plus the fact that he actually shot her across the front of his partner in the squad car. Very bad practice, and indicative of complete panic. Shouldn’t have been a cop – too bad someone’s life had to be lost before it was realized.
This cop was unlucky enough to be named Mohamed Noor instead of Joe Smith.
Damn straight. The cops have made it pretty clear: stay the fuck away from the cops at all times because there is literally nothing you can do to avoid being shot and killed for no reason. You can’t even lie down on the ground face-down – they’ll fucking kill you for that.
Yes, that’s the statute.The sentencing guidelines are thus:
The average sentence for third-degree murder, if convicted, and without a previous criminal history, is in the range of 10 to 15 years in prison, according to the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission. In Minnesota, inmates typically serve two-thirds of their sentence while incarcerated.
Noor is a cop who shot someone in the line of duty.
I suspect he may get a lighter sentence than normal and the manslaughter sentence will run concurrently. I’m guessing 8-10 and he’ll be out in less than 4 years.