Justine Damond: US policeman jailed for Australian's murder - BBC News
Mohamed Noor shot Justine Damond as she approached his car to report a possible rape.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Noor said he "knew in an instant" that he had made a mistake

A former policeman in the US state of Minnesota has been sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison for fatally shooting an unarmed woman who was trying to report a possible crime.

Mohamed Noor shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond as she approached his patrol car to report a possible rape behind her Minneapolis home in July 2017.

He said the shooting was a mistake.

In court, Ms Damond's father, John Ruszczyk, called the killing "an obscene act by an agent of the state".

"Justine's death has left me incomplete - it is as if I have lost a limb or a leg," he said in an impact statement.

Ms Damond was due to marry a month after the shooting

Ms Damond's fiancee, Don Damond, read an emotional statement addressed directly to her.

"Dear Justine, I miss you so much every day, every moment," he said. "I don't understand how such a thing could happen to you and to us."

Noor is the first Minnesota police officer to be found guilty of murder for an on-duty shooting. At his sentencing on Friday, the 33-year-old apologised for taking Ms Damond's life.

"I caused this tragedy and it is my burden," he told the court. "I wish though that I could relieve that burden others feel from the loss that I caused. I cannot, and that is a troubling reality for me."

Some in the Somali-American community - Noor is Somali - have argued that the case was treated differently than police shootings involving white officers and black victims.

Activists outside the courthouse Friday carried signs reading "No double standard" and "NOOR: Victim of Identity Politics."

Some Somali-Americans protested at the court

Noor said he opened fire on the 40-year-old yoga instructor because he feared that he and his partner were being ambushed.

He said he made the "split-second decision" after hearing a loud bang and seeing Ms Damond with her right arm raised.

The police officers had been called to the area to respond to a 911 call made by Ms Damond about the suspected sexual assault.

Noor was convicted in April of second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder, but acquitted of the most serious charge of second-degree murder with intent to kill.

Ms Damond, a US-Australian dual citizen originally from Sydney, was engaged and due to marry a month after the shooting.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Justine Damond's family hold a silent vigil at a beach in Sydney in 2017

She had adopted the surname of her fiancé, Don Damond, ahead of their wedding.

Her death drew international criticism, with Australia's then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull describing it as "inexplicable".

Her family was promised $20m (£15.5m) in compensation by the US city of Minneapolis last month. They said they would donate $2m towards fighting gun crime.