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Attorneys for Noor, 33, are expected to argue in Hennepin County
District Court that he was responding to a perceived deadly
threat after he and his partner heard an unexplained loud noise
and the 40-year-old Damond approached their car in an alley near
her Minneapolis home, prompting Noor to shoot out of his window.
The July 2017 shooting, which Australia's then-Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull called "shocking" and "inexplicable," added to
a wave of controversial U.S. police killings of unarmed
civilians, and led to the resignation of Minneapolis police
chief Janee Harteau.
Noor has pleaded not guilty to charges of third-degree murder
and second-degree manslaughter, which carry respective penalties
of up to 25 and 10 years in prison.
Noor and his partner, Matthew Harrity, were responding to a 911
police emergency call about a suspected sexual assault.
Prosecutors said Noor "recklessly" fired his gun out the patrol
car window, killing Damond.
City officials have said Noor violated procedures and Damond
"didn't have to die."
Damond, also known as Justine Ruszczyk, had taken the name of
her fiance, Don Damond, ahead of their wedding planned for
August 2017. She owned a meditation and life-coaching company,
according to her personal website.
Her family filed a civil lawsuit against the city and several
police officers last month seeking $50 million in damages. It
accuses Noor and Harrity of conspiring to conceal the facts
around the shooting and failing to record the incident on their
body cameras.
It took the court six days to select a pool of 16 jurors,
including four alternates.
(Reporting by Joey Peters in Minneapolis, writing by Gabriella
Borter; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot)
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