Charged with Murder !

The shooting death of Australian woman Justine Damond in the American city of Minneapolis on July 15 last year has finally resulted in a murder charge being laid.  The man who fired the fatal shot was a policeman and he and his partner were responding  to Justine's call reporting screams behind her home which she thought might be a rape in progress.

As the police patrol car pulled up Justine - dressed in her pyjamas - approached to speak to the officers. Mohamed Noor - sitting in the passenger seat - leaned across the driver and fired a single shot which hit Justice in the chest and killed her.

For eight long months Noor has been free on suspension from his job as a policeman and he has exercised his right to silence.  The prosecution has claimed that the police have been deficient in conducting their investigation into this incident and this has joined the many cases of police gun fire killing people who do not appear to have committed a crime.

What is unusual about this case is the fact that it is a black cop shooting a white woman.  The majority of cases roiling African Americans are usually white cops shooting black people and the deaths going unpunished because Grand Juries of mostly white citizens decide that the shooter does not have a case to answer.

Another unusual aspect of this case is that Mohamed Noor hails from Somalia and the fact that he is now free on bail raises fears he may flee the country. It is also noted that the bail figure is a mere $515,000 in Australian values and that this has been obtained from a bail bond that requires just ten percent cash up front.  There are few extradition treaties in force between America and African countries.

The charge he faces is third degree murder which carries a maximum twenty-five year prison term and alternatively,  second degree manslaughter with a ten year prison sentence.  Noor's bail conditions prevents him from contacting his police partner on the night of the shooting.

Noor will face court again on May 8 and the world media will be watching this case with interest. In America the police unions have enormous power and they use it to protect their members even when deaths are both suspicious and controversial.  Acquittals have caused major street riots and the destruction of property and sparked the " Black lives matter " movement.

What caused Noor to fire his gun is a complete mystery but he and Justine were complete strangers and it seems impossible that he shot with intent to commit murder.   The charges he faces seem quite reasonable considering that a manslaughter option is available in this case and there is no doubt that Noor is the reason for her death and that the death requires that punishment will be delivered.  What would be unacceptable would be police coercion or the trial being moved to a district where a selected jury delivered a legally suspect dismissal of the chargers.

We are all responsible for our actions and in this case it seems that a police officer made a fatal mistake.  The prosecution has decided on what seems a reasonable charge in the circumstances and now the case must reach a logical conclusion.  Anything less would do irreparable harm to the American justice system !