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| Justine Damond: US policeman jailed for Australian's murder | Justine Damond: US policeman jailed for Australian's murder |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| A former policeman in the US state of Minnesota has been sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison for fatally shooting an unarmed woman who was trying to report a possible crime. | A former policeman in the US state of Minnesota has been sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison for fatally shooting an unarmed woman who was trying to report a possible crime. |
| Mohamed Noor shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond as she approached his patrol car to report a possible rape behind her Minneapolis home in July 2017. | Mohamed Noor shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond as she approached his patrol car to report a possible rape behind her Minneapolis home in July 2017. |
| He said the shooting was a mistake. | He said the shooting was a mistake. |
| In court, Damond's father, John Ruszczyk, called the killing "an obscene act by an agent of the state". | |
| "Justine's death has left me incomplete - it is as if I have lost a limb or a leg," he said in an impact statement. | |
| Damond's fiancee, Don Damond, read an emotional statement addressed directly to her. | |
| "Dear Justine, I miss you so much every day, every moment," he said. "I don't understand how such a thing could happen to you and to us." | |
| Noor is the first Minnesota police officer to be found guilty of murder for an on-duty shooting. At his sentencing on Friday, the 33-year-old apologised for taking Ms Damond's life. | |
| "I caused this tragedy and it is my burden," he told the court. "I wish though that I could relieve that burden others feel from the loss that I caused. I cannot, and that is a troubling reality for me." | |
| Some in the Somali-American community - Noor is Somali - have argued that the case was treated differently than police shootings involving white officers and black victims. | |
| Activists outside the courthouse Friday carried signs reading "No double standard" and "NOOR: Victim of Identity Politics." | |
| Noor said he opened fire on the 40-year-old yoga instructor because he feared that he and his partner were being ambushed. | Noor said he opened fire on the 40-year-old yoga instructor because he feared that he and his partner were being ambushed. |
| He said he made the "split-second decision" after hearing a loud bang and seeing Damond with her right arm raised. | |
| The police officers had been called to the area to respond to a 911 call made by Damond about the suspected sexual assault. | |
| Noor was convicted in April of second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder, but acquitted of the most serious charge of second-degree murder with intent to kill. | Noor was convicted in April of second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder, but acquitted of the most serious charge of second-degree murder with intent to kill. |
| Damond, a US-Australian dual citizen originally from Sydney, was engaged and due to marry a month after the shooting. | |
| She had adopted the surname of her fiancé, Don Damond, ahead of their wedding. | |
| Her death drew international criticism, with Australia's then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull describing it as "inexplicable". | |
| Her family was promised $20m (£15.5m) in compensation by the US city of Minneapolis last month. They said they would donate $2m towards fighting gun crime. | Her family was promised $20m (£15.5m) in compensation by the US city of Minneapolis last month. They said they would donate $2m towards fighting gun crime. |