Partner of Accused Ex-Cop: Feared Ambush Before Woman Shot

Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor left, arrived with his defense attorneys Peter Wold, center, and Thomas Plunkett, right, before another day of testimony in Noor's murder and manslaughter trial in Minneapolis on April 17, 2019. Jeff Baenen/AP Photo

MINNEAPOLIS—The partner of a Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman who had called 911 to report a possible crime testified on April 18 that he heard a thump on the officers’ squad car right before the shooting and feared a possible ambush.

Officer Matthew Harrity’s testimony echoed a key claim by attorneys for Mohamed Noor, who fired a single shot at Justine Ruszczyk Damond as she approached the officers’ squad car on July 15, 2017.