First appearance of Mohamed Noor
Mohamed Noor did not speak during a bail hearing in Minnesota
The judge told the judge that Mohamed Noor’s bail terms would be lower than the conditions of his previous release. He had been given a $1m bond for the case and would have to abide by a curfew and stay clear of crime scene and public places.
In his first public appearance in a Minnesota courtroom, the Somali-American police officer who shot dead Australian woman Justine Ruszczyk Damond has had his bail and release conditions reduced.
CCTV footage released last month showed Ms Ruszczyk, a 40-year-old humanitarian aid worker, getting out of a taxi in Minneapolis. He then shot her once in the abdomen, killing her at around 1am on 15 July.
Prosecutors said he acted recklessly, saying he “provoked” the shooting because Ms Ruszczyk did not comply with his demand to get on the ground.
Noor has always said that he thought Ms Ruszczyk was a threat to him and that he opened fire because he felt she was attempting to rob him.
Video footage of the shooting contradicted that account, the defence said.
Noor, who at the time of the shooting was a newly appointed police officer, was arrested at the scene.
He was charged with second-degree manslaughter in November.
Video footage
CCTV footage taken from a nearby shop shows Ms Ruszczyk arriving at the scene of the shooting. After seeing the officer enter the shooting zone, she approaches the squad car and identifies herself as a police officer. The camera then pans down, showing what appears to be Ms Ruszczyk struggling with the driver’s side window of the squad car.
The officer then comes down from the passenger seat and shoots at Ms Ruszczyk as she stands a few metres away. After the shots have been fired, she lunges at the squad car and the video then cuts out.
The officer then drives up to the squad car, kicks it, and throws it into reverse. It then hits a parked car.
The officer is heard yelling: “I thought she had a gun!”
Ms Ruszczyk’s shooting has led to a public outcry in Australia, with residents calling for his suspension. He was wearing a body camera that failed in the incident, authorities said.
Somali-American community leader Omar Jamal is among those calling for the officer to resign or face criminal charges.
Ms Ruszczyk, who was engaged to her fiance, Don Damond, had gone to Minneapolis to marry him and the couple had planned to travel in October.
She worked as a veterinarian and was a volunteer for several charities.
