The first week of the trial ended on a high note for Noor thanks to testimony from a former supervisor who said he regularly reminded officers to be mindful of the risk of being ambushed by armed civilians. Noor's attorney's argue that it was lawful for him to shoot Ruszczyk because he believed he was in "a classic ambush scenario” at the time. Posters of Justine Ruszczyk Damond are displayed at a news conference last year. Credit:AP Noor's lawyers say he and his police partner heard a thump on their car just before the shooting. The prosecution has suggested this story was made up in the days following the shooting to justify Noor's actions. Earlier on Friday, local time, Minneapolis police officer Jesse Lopez explained why he was captured on body camera footage telling Noor to "keep your mouth shut until you have to say anything to anybody".

He said when he talked to Noor in the minutes after the shooting, he wasn't ordering him not to talk but offering advice to a fellow officer. Loading "It's what came to mind to advise him," Lopez said. Noor did not speak to the agents who investigated the shooting and it is unclear if he will testify at the trial. Prosecutors also called Lieutenant Daniel May to the witness stand on Friday, but much of his testimony appeared to benefit the defence.

At the time of the shooting May was Noor's supervising officer. He told the court that ambushes on police were a "frequent" topic of conversation at roll call, the briefing given to officers at the start of each shift. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video May referenced a 2016 ambush in Dallas that killed five officers and the fatal shooting of a New York City police officer just weeks before Ruszczyk's death. He said he spoke with officers about the 1992 killing of Minneapolis officer Jerry Haaf "to hammer home that it’s already happened here and it could happen again".

Prosecutors countered that the ambush incidents May referred to were either decades old or occurred a long way away from Minneapolis. They suggested Noor would have been unlikely to fear being ambushed in Ruszczyk's neighbourhood given it was an affluent area with low rates of crime. May also testified that he allowed Noor and his police partner to work in a special precinct-wide car reserved for "hard-working" and "productive" officers. He also said he had granted Noor the right to carry a special high-powered rifle because he was confident in his abilities. "Obviously you’re not going to arm just anybody with that type of weapon," he said.