Thread by @LouRaguse

Closing arguments expected today in the Mohamed Noor Trial. They will be preceded by rubuttal witness(es) from the state to walk back some of the claims made by defense witnesses. Closings will be followed by jury instructions and the beginning of deliberations. #NoorTrial

A verdict tonight feels like a very long shot based on the length of this trial and how late the jury will likely get the case. Stay tuned to this thread for updates. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Closing arguments coming up after the break. We heard rebuttal testimony from State’s use of force experts Hacker and Longo, and the judge read the jury instructions.

Hacker and Longo testified that nothing Mohamed Noor said in his testimony, or defense expert Emanuel Kapelsohn said, would change their minds about whether the use of force was reasonable.

Hacker said he disagreed with Kapelsohn's testimony that the shot was only possible with Noor leaned way over his partner and practically shooting out the window, based on BCA measurements that showed the shot was possible from Noor's seated position on passenger side.

Prosecutor Patrick Lofton asked Hacker about Noor's use of phrases "officer safety" and "Split-second decision" and Hacker said "Officers need to be safe, but at the same time, deadly force needs to be used based on the totality of the circumstances." #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Hacker went through elements -- there was no crime, Ruszczyk posed no immediate harm, and she did not attempt to resist or evade the officers. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Hacker talked about "Shoot, no-shoot" scenarios officers receive in training, and how they need to identify whether the target has a weapon or something else like a cell phone before firing. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

In cross examination, it felt like defense attorney Peter Wold was belittling Hacker's only personal use of deadly force, which was shooting a dog. I wonder if this plays a role in the jury's mind on Hacker's credibility. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Longo had some strong statements in his testimony about Kapelsohn actually proving how long it takes to pull gun out of holster and how it might suggest Noor had his gun in his lap before the shooting, going toward recklessness. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Longo: "Sadly, I think the sanctity of Justine Ruszczyk's life was disregarded."

#NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Prosecution has finished closing arguments and the defense will begin in 10 minutes.
Amy Sweasy gave the presentation using photographs and body camera video clips from evidence in the case. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Sweasy also went through the elements of each crime that the jury will need to decide were proven or not. She put it in much easier-to-understand terms than I've heard before in trials. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Reviewing the evidence, Sweasy explained that on day 1, they promised jurors, "you will know everything that is knowable" and that's why they called so many witnesses, (even when might have seemed to some as repetitive) #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

On the whole MPD and BCA screwups -- "You're entitled to know how you got the evidence that you have," Sweasy said.
#NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Sweasy highlighted all the contradictions between Harrity's story and Noor's story, which i will go into more detail when we break for lunch. But smart for her to do so because it can get hard to remember differences. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

I'm going to head back up so I don't get locked out of defense closing arguments but check back here for more of the specifics of what Sweasy went through. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Closing arguments are over and the case is in the jury’s hands. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Defense attorney Tom Plunkett spoke for over 90 minutes. His main theme: “This is a tragedy. But it’s not a crime.” More details to come. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Plunkett began his closing argument by slamming his hand on the table for dramatic effect - then yelling out "OH SHIT" - then demonstrating Noor shooting a gun. "It's the perfect storm. That is the whole case. It occurred in what Mohamed Noor described as milliseconds."

"You saw lots of testimony, but not necessarily a lot of evidence," Plunkett said. "We're going to focus on the precise moment," reminding jurors to look at the facts known to the officer at the moment he acted, without the benefit of hindsight. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Plunkett played the dispatch audio and showed what details they received on their computer - to show the jury the officers didn't hear the 911 call and know all the nuances of why Ruszczyk called in the first place. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

"So what did Ms. Ruszczyk hear? A couple making love? An assault? Raccoons? We don't know," Plunkett said.
Plunkett then says she must have run down the alley to make it to the car as fast as she did, with adrenaline pumping.

Were their guns out? Plunkett says, "No. It's a total red herring. A total sideshow." Plunkett explained to the jurors what those phrases mean -- then made the analogy to the Wizard of Oz. "The defense has pulled back the curtain on the prosecution," he said near the end.

Plunkett told jurors to concentrate on what Noor was feeling and thinking. And the fact Harrity had a better view - "That's a very telling thing. If you look and it makes you go 'Oh shit,' or 'Oh Jesus,' it has to be serious."
#NoorTrial #JustineDamond

"When the right arm comes up... it happens in the blink of an eye... this is the precise moment we're here to talk about," Plunkett said.
#NoorTrial #JustineDamond

"If there would have been a gun in that hand, Mohamed Noor would have been a hero. But there wasn't, and instead we have a tragedy. But what we don't have is a crime," Plunkett said. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Plunkett argues that although Harrity didn't shoot, "he was very much in the moment" of making the decision -- he *hadn't* decided *not* to shoot. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Now onto the list of red herrings Plunkett refers to, besides the officers having guns out riding through the alley.
-the fact Ruszczyk had blonde hair and a pink shirt and that should signal she wasn't a threat
-whether the loud noise happened or not
-How dark the alley was

Plunkett's list of red herrings (continued)
-Gunshot residue and "sippling" showing where shot was fired
-EMS thinking officers weren't involved in shooting
-Officers not ready for 911 caller to approach car
-Report of elderly woman in need of help earlier
-Poor investigation

Plunkett also showed the jury two photographs from an apparent shooting reconstruction by the BCA that the prosecution chose not to talk about. It showed that the agents couldn't hit the target in lower abdomen, only upper chest.

This was effective for Plunkett in the vein of "Why didn't the prosecution show this?"
And it helped that Sweasy had just told the jurors that prosecutors showed them "everything that is knowable about the case."
#NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Plunkett then went into how Lt. Hacker based his use of force opinion on "incorrect assumptions" such as officers having guns out and prior elderly woman needing help.
#NoorTrial #JustineDamond

On third degree murder - Plunkett said "It's not even close" and those cases involve stuff like driving a car onto a road with a blindfold on.
Second degree murder? Noor didn't have intent.
Manslaughter requires "conscious disregard" -- which Plunkett said there is reasonab doubt

"Noor will have to live with the fact he took an innocent life. That's a tragedy. That's not a crime," Plunkett said. "Do not compromise. Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty."
#NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Check out @kare11 at 5 for a live report on the case. Then after that I'll provide more details from Sweasy's opening statement.
#NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Back to Sweasy's opening statement. She began by offering an explanation to all the witnesses and testimony over mistakes in the investigation and police secrecy. She said they wanted to show how no one who responded to the scene could understand why the shooting happened.

Sweasy specifically mentioned Lt Rick Zimmerman who took us all aback when practically the first thing he said about the case was, "My first thought was, What the fuck?" Although some of the testimony was repetitive, his did stand out.
#NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Sweasy said that all those missteps in the investigation ultimately led to a very complete and thorough investigation. "you have what you need" she said. "You needed to see how you got the evidence that you got. But in the end its about the defendant and his actions"

About the sound on the car -- "No two people described that sound the same." 51 fingerprints lifted from police car but none from Ruzszcyk. "This is a thing that is not knowable. There is no proof it occurred."

Sweasy points out the video buffer that might show Noor demonstrating the evidence was very important because it wasn't intended to be recorded. Then as soon as the sound comes on, Sgt. Barnette says in surprised voice "They were in the car" (referencing direction of shot)

Sweasy mocked Noor's testimony from going from slow and detailed about his biographical info, to fast and dramatic when about July 15, then on cross examination "Began basically a loop. 'Ma'am, I relied on my training. Ma'am, I made a split second decision."

Sweasy asks why Noor wouldn't be able to remember more, even when shown video as a refresher. "This was a traumatic event of his own making. Would that not job some memory?"

On the contradictions between Harrity and Noor:
Harrity: heard thump and murmur,
Noor: Heard bang but no voice
Harrity: Saw silhouette
Noor: Saw pink shirt and blonde hair
Harrity: easily removed gun from holster
Noor: saw Harrity struggle with gun (plus turn to right)

Sweasy tells the jury neither Noor nor Harrity demonstrating the bang or getting spooked nearly as dramatically as Attorneys Plunkett and Wold have been doing throughout the trial. (Wold has cried out OH JESUS many many times in a dramatic voice TBH) #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Noor said Harrity looked at him with fear or horror or terror in his eyes. Harrity never said he looked at Noor until after he heard the pop.
#NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Noor said he got out of his seat and leaned across to shoot, Harrity said Noor was holding gun afterwards across his chest like a mug of beer. #NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Sweasy reminds jury of Harrity's testimony that he didn't shoot because couldn't identify threat or target. And he said death and great bodily harm were "possible" but not "apparent" which is the standard. "You should put great stock in that he didn't act on that," Sweasy said.

Sweasy said Noor is guilty of Murder 2 because he had intent to kill the person at the window he fired at. Intent is not the same as premeditation. She says all they need to decide is that he intentionally killed the person at the window (Ruszczyk)

For Murder 3, Sweasy described the element of "performed without regard for human life" to include how the shot endangered Harrity and potentially the teen on the bike as well as Justine. "He exercised absolutely no care," she said.

Then for manslaughter 2, Sweasy described this as just the floor of which Noor is guilty. Culpable negligence is gross negligence coupled with recklessness. Sweasy says Noor knew he did more than take a risk when he fired so it was reckless. No adequate reason for taking the risk

Sweasy closed with a photo of Justine on the screen and reminding the jury that her fiance Don Damond testified that when she said her last words, "OK, the police are here," he had a sense they had called the right people.
#NoorTrial #JustineDamond

Feel free to send your questions. I'll be at the courthouse as long as the jury is deliberating... and hopefully will have more time to answer questions. If a question from the jury comes along I will report on it.
#NoorTrial #JustineDamond