Daily Digest: Officer charged in shooting death

Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday, the first full day of spring. Here's the Digest.

1. Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor was charged Tuesday in the shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk last summer. Noor is charged with third-degree murder “perpetrating eminently dangerous act and evincing depraved mind” and second-degree manslaughter, “culpable negligence creating unreasonable risk.” in the shooting, which drew international attention and led to the ouster of Police Chief Janeé Harteau. “A person sitting in a passenger seat of a squad car takes a gun, hears a noise, maybe sees some object...He reaches across in front of his partner, shoots a gun at an object that he can’t see. That’s evidence of a depraved mind in my view,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said at an afternoon news conference announcing the charges. Freeman told reporters that the case “would’ve been done much quicker” if some of Noor’s fellow officers had agreed to cooperate with investigators, prompting his decision to convene a grand jury. He said that some officers, including police Chief Medaria Arradondo, came in voluntarily to testify before the grand jury. (Star Tribune)

2. Freeman acknowledged getting a conviction would be a "daunting task." Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor "recklessly and intentionally fired" his gun, Freeman said. In the seconds between when Ruszczyk approached Noor's squad car and when he shot, "there is no evidence that officer Noor encountered a threat, appreciated a threat, investigated a threat or confirmed a threat that justified his decision to use deadly force," Freeman told reporters Tuesday afternoon. Noor turned himself in Tuesday after an arrest warrant was issued, according to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. He was booked into the Hennepin County jail. Minneapolis police said that Tuesday was his last day on the force. Freeman argued that Noor "abused his authority to use deadly force," although he later acknowledged that convincing a jury to convict a police officer of murder would be a "daunting task." Noor attorney Tom Plunkett called the shooting a tragedy but said his client "should not have been charged with any crime" and that the facts would show Noor "acted as he has been trained and consistent with established departmental policy." (MPR News)

3. Why "daunting?" Because the law makes it hard to convict a police officer. The unusual charge of third-degree murder and the revelation Tuesday that Mohamed Noor’s former partner, Officer Matthew Harrity, told investigators he feared for his life that night could both complicate prosecutors’ effort to gain a conviction against Noor, according to several defense attorneys interviewed Tuesday. Just before Noor shot and killed Justine Ruszczyk Damond in south Minneapolis last summer, Harrity said he heard a voice, a thump behind the squad window and caught a glimpse of a person’s head and shoulders, the charges said. Harrity “perceived his life was in danger, reached for his gun, unholstered it and held it to his rib cage while pointing it downward,” the charges said. Under state law, on-duty officers can use deadly force to protect themselves or their partners from apparent death or great bodily harm. And a 1989 Supreme Court decision requires that officers’ use-of-force actions be viewed in the moment, not with 20/20 hindsight. (Star Tribune)

4. Gun control bills stay tabled. A last-ditch attempt to revive a pair of gun control bills fizzled Tuesday, likely sealing their fate for the rest of Minnesota’s legislative session. Rep. David Pinto, DFL-St. Paul, tried to advance bills to broaden background checks and to allow seizure of firearms from people regarded as a risk. Both had been indefinitely suspended after a House Public Safety and Security Policy Committee hearing weeks ago, and the votes Tuesday against moving them forward were identical. With a committee deadline for action on Thursday and no signs of movement in the House or Senate, it is highly improbable that either bill reaches Gov. Mark Dayton for his promised signature. There could be attempts to force floor votes, but that route is seldom successful. After the votes, advocates for tighter gun restrictions jeered lawmakers, asking aloud “how do you sleep at night” and chanting “vote them out” as they left the hearing room. The committee’s chairman promptly gaveled the meeting to a close. (MPR News)

5. Dayton: House MNLARS bill faces veto. Gov. Mark Dayton is pledging to veto an emergency funding bill for the troubled Minnesota Licensing and Registration System (MNLARS) if the House position prevails in upcoming negotiations. Dayton is willing to accept the version that passed Monday in the Senate. He opposes the House version, which would provide $10 million while requiring the administration to cut an equal amount from other state agencies to pay for the fix. Dayton told reporters Tuesday that he made his objections clear to Republican legislative leaders. “There’s no justification whatsoever for taking that money from other state agencies,” Dayton said. “I will veto that measure if it’s in the bill. I will veto the bill, and then we’ll be done.” Dayton continues to question whether Republican leaders want to fix MNLARS or keep the problem alive as a campaign issue. (MPR News)

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