Police killing of Amir Locke spurs more protests in Minneapolis amid calls to end no-knock warrants
It was a weekend of anguish in Minneapolis as thousands of protesters marched through the city demanding justice for Amir Locke, a 22-year-old man who was shot and killed by a SWAT team during a no-knock raid last Wednesday.
A massive car caravan of protesters traveled through the city Sunday night, stopping outside what is believed to be the home of Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman.
"We need to end police brutality, no-knock warrants. Stop the lying," demonstrator Butchy Austin told CBS News.
As many in the city blame the no-knock warrant for Locke's death, Mayor Jacob Frey has issued a moratorium on the practice. His office said it severely limited the use of such warrants last November as part of reforms related to the death of George Floyd, but a report from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune found at least a dozen have been issued since January.
A disturbing police bodycam video shows a Minneapolis SWAT team executing the early-morning warrant after using a key to enter Locke's apartment. Multiple officers are heard shouting in the video with their guns drawn.
In the video, as Locke rises, a gun can be seen in his hand before Officer Mark Hanneman shoots him three times, killing him. It all happens in about nine seconds.
The officers were not looking for Locke, and his name was not on the warrant.
Locke's family said the police startled him while he was sleeping and that he grabbed his gun in self-defense. They also said he was licensed to carry the weapon and had no criminal record.
"These no-knock warrants have deadly consequences for innocent Black people," said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Locke family.
Crump said no-knock warrants create unnecessary risk.
"You could knock on the door and announce, 'Hey, the police, we have a search warrant,' so people wouldn't — in the middle of the night, while they're in slumber — hear somebody coming in their house and feel like they're being burglarized," Crump said.
So far, no charges have been filed in Locke's death and Hanneman is on administrative leave.
In a statement, the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis expressed sympathy for Locke's family and said "no officer goes into a dangerous setting like this wanting to use a weapon," adding that the "decision was not taken lightly."