My advice for Mohammed Noor

If you've been reading the papers, you may have heard about a tragic case where an Australian woman living in Minneapolis was shot and killed by a young police officer of Somali descent, Mohammed Noor.  Suffice it to say that what is known does not look good for him.  The police union, which usually reflexively defends its members, is mostly quiet.  Police chief Janee' Harteau has said the killing should not have happened, and even the Somali community seems to be quiet so far.  So while I'm not a lawyer, I'm guessing that Noor's lawyer is telling him he's looking at 10-20 years unless he does something really smart.


That something smart could be to do the same thing Harteau did to him; throw the Minneapolis Police under the bus.   Admit he was an "affirmative action hire" and note that certain key parts of his qualifications were ignored or falsified--provide evidence if possible.  Explain that because he and other AA hires were not highly qualified, they were partnered together instead of with veteran officers, depriving them of the "street wisdom" that comes with time (Harteau has almost admitted this already).  Finally, make public what has been long suspected; that Minneapolis police officers are trained to keep their fingers on the trigger, despite the official policy.  Bring half a dozen carry permit instructors with combat or MP experience to explain what that policy is a really, really bad idea.


If he does something like this (and does not have some other exonerating evidence of course), my prediction is he cuts his sentence to 2-5 years, and that we really get to watch the fur fly when the family files a civil lawsuit against the MPD.  Time will tell.