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Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a 40-year-old Australian-American, was shot and killed by Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor in the alley behind her home on July 15, 2017, after calling 911 to report a possible sexual assault. Noor fired from the passenger seat of a patrol car across his partner and through the open driver's window, striking the unarmed woman in the abdomen.

Damond grew up in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney and graduated from the University of Sydney as a veterinarian in 2002. She later worked as a spiritual healer and meditation coach. She and her fiance, Don Damond, planned to marry in August 2017. She had taken his surname before the wedding.

Just before 11:30 p.m., Damond called 911 after hearing what sounded like a woman being sexually assaulted behind her home on the 5000 block of Washburn Avenue S. in southwest Minneapolis. She called again within about 10 minutes because officers had not arrived, asking whether they had the wrong address. Dispatch classified the call as a low-priority report of a woman screaming.

Officer Matthew Harrity drove into the alley with Noor in the passenger seat. The officers traveled with the patrol car's lights off and found no suspects or signs of an assault. Damond approached the driver's window. Harrity drew his gun but held it pointed down. Noor fired, hitting Damond, who was barefoot. The officers attempted CPR, and she died at the scene.

Neither officer had activated his body camera. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigated the shooting and turned its findings over to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman in September 2017.

Noor surrendered on March 20, 2018, after being charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The Police Department fired him after the charges were filed. A judge later permitted prosecutors to add a charge of second-degree intentional murder.

At his trial in April 2019, Harrity testified that he had heard a thump and a murmur and feared an ambush, but believed deadly force was premature. Noor testified that he heard a bang, saw fear on Harrity's face and then saw a blonde woman in a pink shirt raise her arm. He described his decision to fire as a split-second one. Under cross-examination, he acknowledged that he had seen nothing in her hands.

Prosecutors presented fingerprint evidence countering the suggestion that Damond had slapped the patrol car. Two use-of-force experts testified that the shooting was unreasonable. On April 30, 2019, the jury convicted Noor of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and acquitted him of intentional second-degree murder.

Three days later, Minneapolis announced a $20 million settlement with Damond's family, the largest police-related settlement in the city's history. On June 7, 2019, Judge Kathryn Quaintance sentenced Noor to 12.5 years in prison.

The Minnesota Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction on Sept. 15, 2021. It ruled that Noor's act was directed at a particular person and therefore did not meet the offense's requirement of a depraved mind. On Oct. 21, 2021, Quaintance resentenced him to 57 months, the maximum sentence for second-degree manslaughter. He was released from custody on June 27, 2022, with supervised release scheduled through Jan. 24, 2024.