This article was prepared exclusively for the New York Analysis of Policy and Government by the distinguished retired judge John H. Wilson.
On July 15, 2017, Justine Diamond was shot and killed by Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor. Diamond, a yoga instructor who had immigrated to America from Australia, had called the police to report a suspected rape in the area. Officer Noor and his partner, Matthew Harrity, were sitting in their squad car at the location Diamond reported, when Diamond approached the squad car from behind, and appeared at the driver’s window, where Officer Harrity was seated. Officer Noor, in the passenger seat, pulled out his service revolver, and shot Diamond in the stomach, firing across his partner, killing her.
Officer Noor was charged with Murder in the Third Degree, which under Section 609.195 of the Minnesota Statutes, requires that the person charged with this crime, act “without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life.”
At Officer Noor’s trial, Officer Harrity testified that he believed that the use of deadly force was “premature.” – After his conviction, Officer Noor was sentenced to serve 12 and 1/2 years in prison (which is half of the maximum sentence for Murder in the Third Degree in Minnesota).
What is most tragic about this shooting, is that it did not have to happen in the first place. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, prior to being hired by the Minneapolis police force in 2015, Noor was flagged by two psychiatrists during his pre-hiring evaluation “after he exhibited an inability to handle the stress of regular police work and unwillingness to deal with people.” Yet, he was hired anyway, and two months before the shooting of Diamond, Noor allegedly put his gun to the head of someone he had stopped for a traffic violation.
Mohamed Noor is a Somali, and as a member of that community, his joining of the Minneapolis police force was met with joy. Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges gave this statement at the time he was hired: “I want to take a moment to recognize Officer Mohamed Noor, the newest Somali officer in the Minneapolis Police Department…his arrival has been highly celebrated, particularly by the Somali community.” Shortly after the shooting of Diamond, the Chief of the Minneapolis Police Force, Janee Harteau, resigned, and in spite of the evidence to the contrary cited above, had the nerve to state that “the recent incidents do not reflect the training and procedures we’ve developed as a Department.”
So how is it possible that a candidate for the police academy, who shows an inability to handle the day to day stress of being a police officer, makes it onto the force? Further, how can that officer remain on active duty after pointing his gun at the head of a citizen pulled over for a traffic infraction?
Before we answer these questions, let us look at another member of the Somali community who appears to have been hired without any qualifications for the job they hold.
Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was elected to serve in Congress, replacing Keith Ellison, who now serves as the Minnesota Attorney General. At the time of her election, Omar, who immigrated to America as a teenager, was widely celebrated for being a Somali, a woman, and a Muslim. As reported in Vox, “the makeup of the district (in which Omar was elected) has allowed progressive politics to flourish. Omar ran on a platform that embraced the left, including Medicare-for-all, a $15 minimum wage, and tuition-free college… ‘It is a district that is very much interested in making sure our progressive values are represented,'” Omar stated.
As it happens, I know people who reside in Omar’s district. These persons posted on Facebook their absolute joy at having Omar as their Representative at Then again, long haul emotional wellness treatment should be possible through treatment, which includes receiving an entire better approach for considering. cheap viagra levitra Demand purchase levitra Kamagra Oral Jelly online and you won’t reconsider it. Some products that are out in the market add in their list of ingredients some herbal extracts which have sexual health benefits. order generic cialis Most teenagers are sexually active, which may be the influence of pornography. generic cialis online Recommended page the time of her election.
In the short time Omar has been in Congress, she has accused American Jews of having allegiance to a foreign government (Israel). In fact, she has repeatedly apologized for a series of anti-Semitic tweets, some made before she was elected, including “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”
As if this were not bad enough, there is an on-going investigation into whether or not Omar married a man who may have been her own brother, while her divorce to her husband had not been finalized. The allegation centers around her having married her “brother” in order to assist him with securing legal residence in the United States. husband, while still legally married to her ex.
Clearly, there are Somalis who are more than qualified to hold positions of authority and who should be promoted to those positions. However, it is equally clear that Noor and Omar are not among those qualified persons.
So, how did each secure a job in which each could do so much damage?
According to John Gilmore of Alpha News, it is the need for diversity at any price that drives these tragic results. “There’s no cost too great to inflict on the public, indeed a people and their culture, in the name of diversity,” he writes. “’Diversity’ is a cancer that has metastasized throughout America.”
On the other hand, those who defend the need for diversity hiring have argued that the Noor case points to a larger issue with police brutality and the overall need for better training of law enforcement. But in the case of Representative Omar, her defenders seem to be fighting more of a rear-guard action – for instance, pulling back on a Congressional Resolution to censure her anti-Semitic, and anti-Israel comments, and making a broader statement against “hate” in general.
There is an argument to be made that Jackie Robinson was, in essence, the first diversity hire, and in an effort to give people the chance to accept him, the ownership of the Brooklyn Dodgers chose one of the absolute best ballplayers in existence. In America today, it is no longer necessary that the “best of the best” be chosen to achieve diversity.
At the very least, however, we should expect those hired in the name of diversity to be competent, and fit for the job. In the case of Officer Noor, the failure to meet this simple goal has cost the life of an innocent woman, and the freedom of a once-celebrated officer.
Rep. Illan Omar (official photo)