The City of Minneapolis is paying $20 million US to settle a lawsuit over a police officer's fatal shooting of an unarmed woman who approached his squad car after calling 911 to report a possible crime.
Mayor Jacob Frey announced the settlement Friday, three days after a jury convicted Mohamed Noor of murder and manslaughter in the 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. Damond, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia, had called 911 to summon officers to a possible rape in the alley behind her house.
The settlement appears to be among the largest ever for an officer-involved shooting fatality. In 1999, Chicago paid $18 million to the family of a victim.
Noor and his partner were rolling down the alley in a police SUV when they say they were startled by a loud bang on the vehicle. Noor testified that he fired to protect them from a perceived threat. Jurors took about 11½ hours to reach a verdict after hearing three weeks of testimony.
Damond's family had filed a lawsuit seeking more than $50 million, alleging that her civil rights were violated.