The City of Minneapolis has agreed to pay $20 million to the family of an unarmed woman who was shot and killed by an officer after she approached his car when he was responding the her 911 call.
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The victim’s family had filed a lawsuit seeking more than $50 million from Minneapolis, saying that the victim’s rights had been violated, according to the New York Times.
The announcement of the settlement, which is one of the largest involving a fatal police shooting, came three days after the conviction of Mohamed Poor, the Muslim Minnesota police officer who became the first the be convicted of a murder in an on-duty killing.
Noor was found guilty Tuesday for the shooting of 40-year-old Justine Ruszczyk after she called 911 to report hearing a woman being attacked. When Noor arrived in her neighborhood, she approached his vehicle. Noor fired out of his car, killing her.
“This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward,” said Mayor Jacob Frey as he announced the settlement. Frey added that Noor’s failure to identify a threat before firing his weapon pushed the city to quickly settle. The family will donate $2 million from their settlement to a program aimed at preventing gun violence in the city.
Though Noor’s lawyers argued that Noor, who was later fired by MPD, shot his gun to protect his partner, who had become alarmed after hearing a thump and seeing a person raise their arm by the driver’s side window.
Noor was convicted of third-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years. His manslaughter charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Experts applauded the quick settlement. Walter Signorelli, a lawyer who represents clients suing the police, made the city’s motivation clear.
“A jury could give $100 million,” Signorelli said, “so they wanted to avoid that.”
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