Minnesota Cop Convicted for Killing Unarmed Woman

When a white cop shoots a black person, that's racism. When a black cop shoots a black person, that's institutionalized racism. But what if a black cop shoots a white person? What if, to make it even more intersectional, the cop is also Muslim? Is it possible to hold him accountable for his actions without being racist and Islamophobic?

On a Saturday night in July 2017, a Minneapolis police officer named Mohamed Noor responded to a 911 call placed by a woman named Justine Damond, who reported a possible sexual assault near her home. When Noor pulled up to her house, she approached his patrol car and he shot and killed her. Damond was in her pajamas and was unarmed. Noor didn't give her any verbal warning. He just shot her. She called the police because she thought someone was in trouble, and she was killed for it.

In any dispute between a Muslim and a non-Muslim, the Muslim is the victim. Even if -- especially if -- he's just been convicted of murder.

Yes, murdering an unarmed woman does tend to have a negative effect on morale.

So, how are the rest of us supposed to react to this? A cop is going to jail for murdering an immigrant (Damond was Australian). That's good because, as we're reminded again and again, cops are bad. But the victim was white, and the cop is a black Muslim. That means it's racist to put him in jail when all the white cops who did the same thing have gotten away with it, except for the ones who didn't get away with it.