On the Basis of Race? Making Sense of the Noor Verdict

Could a reasonable jury based on the facts have concluded that former Minneapolis Police Officer
Mohamed Noor was guilty of  a third-degree murder  and second-degree  manslaughter, or can the verdicts only be explained on the basis of race?  This is the question still being debated more than a week after a jury rendered its verdict. The question of how race factored into this decision or, more structurally, a variety of actions surrounding the Minneapolis police department and government make it difficult to render a clean answer.  However, to many, even if facially neutral, it is hard to account for what has happened unless race is considered.

As many who study policing can attest, the law favors them when it comes to the use of force.  Constitutionally, the standard of “objective reasonableness” in terms of whether an officer feared for his life or that of others is a high bar to overcome to find  police criminally liable for use of force.  Jurors are loath to second-guess police use of force, and often the victim of the force is someone accused or guilty of a crime.  A racially neutral argument is that few police are found guilty of use of excessive force is that the laws favors them and they used force appropriately.

A less than racially-neutral argument asserts that the reason why so few officers are charged and found guilty is because of race.  It is both the race of the officer (generally white) and the race of the victim (generally a person of color).  The racism is not necessarily individual and intentional, but it could also be institutional or societal. By that, the racism is not explicit or conscious, but woven into the fabric of our institutions, law, and society. Use of force by white police officers against people of color tells us something about whose lives matter in our society.

The Mohamad Noor trial was complicated. Three charges were brought against him, with convictions on two of them for third-degree murder  and second-degree  manslaughter. According to the judge’s instructions, a jury could find Noor guilty of third-degree murder if it concluded that
Noor caused (Ruszczyk’s) Damond’s death “by perpetuating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind” without regard for life but also without intent to kill and was committed in a “reckless or wanton” manner understanding that someone may be killed.

For a second-degree manslaughter conviction, jurors needed to conclude that Noor demonstrated “culpable negligence,” that he was reckless, and created an “unreasonable risk” and knowingly took the chance of causing a death or great bodily harm.

Could a reasonable jury have concluded the facts supported these charges?  Perhaps so and from a racially-neutral perspective, the evidence was significant to overcome the high constitutional bar.

But too many other factors create problems for this case, making it look like the prosecution, conviction, and City reaction were all on the basis of race.  This is the first conviction of an officer for murder in Hennepin County if not Minnesota.  Contrary to other recent high profile cases such as the trial of Jeronimo Yanez (a Latino police officer) who was not convicted in the shooting of Philando Castile (an African-American), this was a person of color charged and convicted of killing a white female.

Second, the City of Minneapolis quickly settled the civil suit against them for a record $20,000,000 payout.  But on same day the Minneapolis City Council rejected settling a far less than rumored $100,000 amount arising out of the shooting of Jamar Clark (African-American) by a white police officer in 2015.  This action led federal judge Michael Davis to order the City to court to explain their behavior.  Third, after the Noor verdict, Minneapolis police officials called for a re-examination of their procedures.

It is possible all of the above could be explained neutrally and not on the basis of race. But for many, especially in the Somali community, while similar reactions or responses did not occur when it involved white officers and persons of color as victims.  Over the years there have been many allegations of police brutality but little call for reform until now.  Perhaps this is the privilege of being white and why black lives appear not to matter.