Somali-born former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor said that he would plead not guilty to murder charges, and claim he shot Justine Ruszczyk in "defence of others" during a trial scheduled for 1 April, citing a document his lawyers filed with the Minnesota District Court on Friday, Australia's 9News reported.
According to the document, Noor would also claim he fired in 'self-defence' using 'reasonable force'; this was mentioned in an earlier filing. 'Defence of others' will become the defendant's fourth argument.
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If the court finds him guilty and convicts him of second-degree murder, Noor faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
In March last year, the Minneapolis Police Department fired the officer shortly after criminal charges against him were announced.
