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A4 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 25 June 2022
Ex-Minneapolis officer who killed 911 caller to be released

By AMY FORLITI Damond’s killing angered
Associated Press citizens in the U.S. and Aus-
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The tralia, and led to the res-
former Minneapolis police ignation of Minneapolis’
officer who fatally shot police chief. It also led the
an unarmed woman who department to change its
called 911 to report a pos- policy on body cameras;
sible sexual assault in the Noor and his partner didn’t
alley behind her home is have theirs activated when
scheduled to be released they were investigating Da-
from prison next week, mond’s 911 call.
months after his murder Noor testified at his 2019
conviction was overturned trial that he and his partner
and he was resentenced were driving slowly in an al-
on a lesser charge. ley when a loud bang on
Mohamed Noor, 36, is their police SUV made him
scheduled to be released fear for their lives. He said
from custody Monday, ac- he saw a woman appear
cording to online Depart- at the partner’s driver’s side
ment of Corrections re- window and raise her right
cords. arm before he fired a shot
Noor was initially convict- from the passenger seat to
ed of third-degree murder stop what he thought was
and manslaughter in the Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor addresses Judge Kathryn Quaintance at the a threat.
2017 fatal shooting of Jus- Hennepin County Government Center, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, in Minneapolis. Damond was a medita-
tine Ruszczyk Damond, a Associated Press tion teacher and life coach
40-year-old dual U.S.-Aus- who was killed about a
tralian citizen and yoga in prison and the rest on lis and their wish to make a of Corrections spokesman month before her wedding.
teacher who was engaged supervised release, com- statement about the com- Nicholas Kimball said Noor Her maiden name was Jus-
to be married. But last year, monly known as parole. munities’ expectations of is still out of state, but did tine Ruszczyk, and though
the Minnesota Supreme The DOC’s website says police behaviour and ac- not specify where. she was not yet married,
Court tossed out his murder Noor will be on supervised tions,” Ruszczyk wrote in “For safety reasons, we she had already been us-
conviction and 12 1/2-year release until Jan. 24, 2024. response to emailed ques- aren’t able to provide ing her fiance’s last name.
sentence, saying the mur- Damond’s father, John tions from The Associated more detail than what is Her fiance, Don Damond,
der charge didn’t apply to Ruszczyk, said Friday that Press. available on the public declined to comment on
the circumstances of this the family was disappoint- After his conviction, Noor website, which is the sched- Noor’s pending release,
case. ed that Noor’s third-degree began serving his time at uled date of release,” Kim- but said during Noor’s re-
He was resentenced to four murder conviction was Minnesota’s maximum- ball said. It wasn’t clear sentencing that he had
years and nine months on overturned. security prison in Oak Park whether Noor would return forgiven the former officer,
the manslaughter charge. “His release after a trivial Heights, but the Star Tribune to Minnesota. His attorney, and that he had no doubt
In Minnesota, it’s presumed sentence shows great dis- reported he was trans- Tom Plunkett, declined to Justine also would have for-
that a defendant with respect to the wishes of the ferred to a facility in North comment, saying, “at this given him “for your inability
good behavior will serve jury who represented the Dakota in July 2019 for his point I just want to respect in managing your emotions
two-thirds of a sentence communities of Minneapo- own safety. Department Mr. Noor’s privacy.” that night.”q

FBI seizes disputed Basquiat artwork

from Florida museum

FBI for access to the ‘He- troversy gained more at- pointed out that the card-
roes and Monsters’ exhibit, tention shortly after the board used in at least one
which is now in the gov- Orlando exhibit opened of the pieces included Fe-
ernment’s possession. She in February. Basquiat, who dEx typeface that wasn’t
added that no one on the lived and worked in New used until 1994, about six
museum’s staff has been York City, found success years after Basquiat died,
arrested. in the 1980s as part of the according to the warrant.
“It is important to note that Neo-expressionism move- Also, television writer Thad
we still have not been led ment. The Orlando Museum Mumford, the owner of the
to believe the Museum has of Art was the first institution storage locker where the
Entrance to an exhibit by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is seen been or is the subject of any to display pieces said to art was eventually found,
at the Orlando Museum of Art, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in investigation,” Bourmas-Fry have been found in an old told investigators that he
Orlando, Fla.
Associated Press said. “We continue to see storage locker years after had never owned any
our involvement purely as a Basquiat’s 1988 death from Basquiat art and that the
By DAVID FISCHER following questions about fact witness.” a drug overdose at age 27. pieces were not in the unit
Associated Press their authenticity. According to a search Questions about the art- the last time he had visited.
The FBI raided a Florida Orlando Museum of Art warrant, federal art crimes works’ authenticity arose Mumford died in 2018.
art museum on Friday and spokeswoman Emilia Bour- investigators have been almost immediately after Orlando Museum of Art di-
seized more than two doz- mas-Fry said in a statement looking into the 25 paint- their discovery. The artwork rector Aaron De Groft has
en paintings attributed to that they were complying ings since shortly after their was purportedly made repeatedly insisted that the
artist Jean-Michel Basquiat with a warrant from the discovery in 2012. The con- in 1982, but experts have art is legitimate. q