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Coordinates: 44°58′18″N 93°16′28″W / 44.971746°N 93.274366°W / 44.971746; -93.274366
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On February 2, activists held a vigil and asked police and city leaders for more information, including who authorized the SWAT team.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jany|first=Libor|last2=Simons|first2=Abby|date=February 2, 2022|title=Interim chief: Man shot, killed by Minneapolis police during search was armed|work=[[Star Tribune]]|url=https://www.startribune.com/police-shoot-kill-man-in-downtown-minneapolis/600142243/|access-date=February 2, 2022}}</ref> On February 4, during a press conference by Interim Chief Amelia Huffman and Mayor Jacob Frey, reporters and community members challenged Huffman about her initial description of the body camera footage after the footage was released, including civil rights attorney [[Nekima Levy Armstrong]].<ref name="bodycamera"/><ref name="Karnowski Feb 4" /><ref name="Bailey 2022" />
On February 2, activists held a vigil and asked police and city leaders for more information, including who authorized the SWAT team.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jany|first=Libor|last2=Simons|first2=Abby|date=February 2, 2022|title=Interim chief: Man shot, killed by Minneapolis police during search was armed|work=[[Star Tribune]]|url=https://www.startribune.com/police-shoot-kill-man-in-downtown-minneapolis/600142243/|access-date=February 2, 2022}}</ref> On February 4, during a press conference by Interim Chief Amelia Huffman and Mayor Jacob Frey, reporters and community members challenged Huffman about her initial description of the body camera footage after the footage was released, including civil rights attorney [[Nekima Levy Armstrong]].<ref name="bodycamera"/><ref name="Karnowski Feb 4" /><ref name="Bailey 2022" />


The parents of Amir Locke said the death was an "execution",<ref name="mayor-and-parents" /> and their son did not live at the apartment.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Forliti |first1=Amy| last2=Karnowski| first2=Steve |title=Police video shows man shot by officer was on couch, had gun |url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Activist-Man-killed-by-police-didn-t-live-in-16829510.php |access-date=February 5, 2022 |work=mySA |date=February 4, 2022}}</ref> The family said Amir was "a deep sleeper" and may have been startled and "grabbed for his gun".<ref name="MH">{{cite news | last = Burnett | first = Sara | date = February 6, 2022 | title = Amir Locke, killed by Minneapolis cop, wanted music career | url = https://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/celebrities/article258082813.html|agency=Associated Press | work = Miami Herald}}</ref> According to Rob Doar, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, "Mr. Locke did what many of us might do in the same confusing circumstances, he reached for a legal means of self-defense while he sought to understand what was happening."<ref name="Karnowski Feb 4" /> Locke's family hired Minnesota attorney Jeff Storms and civil rights attorneys [[Benjamin Crump|Ben Crump]] and Antonio Romanucci for legal counsel.<ref name="family-attorneys">{{cite news|date=February 4, 2022|title=Attorneys, parents of Amir Locke call for justice following release of bodycam video in his death|work=KSTP.com Eyewitness News|url=https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/family-of-amir-locke-civil-rights-attorneys-respond-to-mpd-bodycam-video-release/|access-date=February 5, 2022}}</ref>
The parents of Amir Locke said the death was an "execution",<ref name="mayor-and-parents" /> and their son did not live at the apartment.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Forliti |first1=Amy| last2=Karnowski| first2=Steve |title=Police video shows man shot by officer was on couch, had gun |url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Activist-Man-killed-by-police-didn-t-live-in-16829510.php |access-date=February 5, 2022 |work=mySA |date=February 4, 2022}}</ref> The family said Amir was "a deep sleeper" and may have been startled and "grabbed for his gun".<ref name="MH">{{cite news | last = Burnett | first = Sara | date = February 6, 2022 | title = Amir Locke, killed by Minneapolis cop, wanted music career | url = https://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/celebrities/article258082813.html|agency=Associated Press | work = Miami Herald}}</ref> Locke's family hired Minnesota attorney Jeff Storms and civil rights attorneys [[Benjamin Crump|Ben Crump]] and Antonio Romanucci for legal counsel.<ref name="family-attorneys">{{cite news|date=February 4, 2022|title=Attorneys, parents of Amir Locke call for justice following release of bodycam video in his death|work=KSTP.com Eyewitness News|url=https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/family-of-amir-locke-civil-rights-attorneys-respond-to-mpd-bodycam-video-release/|access-date=February 5, 2022}}</ref>


On February 5, hundreds of people in Minneapolis protested Locke's death.<ref>{{Cite news|last=|date=2022-02-06|title=Hundreds in Minneapolis protest police killing of Black man in raid|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hundreds-minneapolis-protest-police-killing-black-man-raid-2022-02-06/|access-date=2022-02-06}}</ref><ref name="Senter 2022">{{cite news |last1=Senter |first1=Jay |last2=Kasakove |first2=Sophie |last3=Olmos |first3=Sergio |title=‘We Need Something Different’: Protesters March in Minneapolis After Police Killing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/us/amir-locke-minneapolis-police-shooting.html |access-date=6 February 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 5, 2022}}</ref>
On February 5, hundreds of people in Minneapolis protested Locke's death.<ref>{{Cite news|last=|date=2022-02-06|title=Hundreds in Minneapolis protest police killing of Black man in raid|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hundreds-minneapolis-protest-police-killing-black-man-raid-2022-02-06/|access-date=2022-02-06}}</ref><ref name="Senter 2022">{{cite news |last1=Senter |first1=Jay |last2=Kasakove |first2=Sophie |last3=Olmos |first3=Sergio |title=‘We Need Something Different’: Protesters March in Minneapolis After Police Killing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/us/amir-locke-minneapolis-police-shooting.html |access-date=6 February 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 5, 2022}}</ref>

Revision as of 14:45, 7 February 2022

Killing of Amir Locke
Part of 2020–2022 Minneapolis–Saint Paul racial unrest
File:Amir Locke Handgun Still-Frame.png
Still frame from police body camera footage of the killing of Amir Locke showing the handgun he held
Map
Shooting location in Minneapolis.
DateFebruary 2, 2022 (2022-02-02)
Timec. 6:48 am (CST)
VenueBolero Flats Apartment Homes
LocationMinneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Coordinates44°58′18″N 93°16′28″W / 44.971746°N 93.274366°W / 44.971746; -93.274366
TypeNo-knock warrant
CauseSaint Paul Police Department homicide investigation
Filmed byPolice body camera
ParticipantsAmir Locke
Mark Hanneman
Other police officers
Outcome1 fatality
DeathsAmir Locke
InquiriesUnder review by state and county authorities
FootageMinneapolis incident page

Amir Locke, a 22-year-old American Black man, was fatally shot on February 2, 2022, by the Minneapolis Police Department, in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. A SWAT officer shot Locke inside a resident unit of an apartment building while executing a no-knock warrant during a homicide investigation.[1]

The conduct of the police officers, and justification for the shooting, are under review by the office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and the Hennepin County attorney's office, as well as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey imposed a moratorium on no-knock warrants on February 4.

Persons involved

Amir Locke was a 22-year-old Black man. He was born in Maplewood, Minnesota, and raised in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul suburbs.[2] According to his mother, he was starting a music career and planned to move to Dallas in the following week.[2] According to his family, he had a gun license and a concealed carry permit,[2] and had a gun for protection due to his work for DoorDash.[3] He did not have a criminal record in Minnesota.[3]

Mark Hanneman has been a police officer in Minneapolis since 2015. He is a member of the Minneapolis Police Department's SWAT team.[4] According to personnel records released by the department, Hanneman had three past complaints, all closed without disciplinary action.[5][6] Prior to working with the police department, Hanneman was employed as a police officer in Hutchinson, Minnesota, starting in 2010.[4]

Event

At about 6:48 a.m.[7] on February 2, 2022, police officers unlocked and opened the door to an apartment in downtown Minneapolis pursuant to a no-knock warrant.[8] Police body camera footage reviewed by reporters "showed several officers quickly rushing into the apartment at the same time they announced their presence".[8] Police body camera footage shows Locke was lying on a couch while wrapped in a blanket.[6][9][10][11][12] An officer kicked the couch.[5] Locke sat up and turned toward the officers while holding a gun,[9] and in a still image released by the police department, his trigger finger is along the barrel of the gun.[6] He was then shot twice in the chest and once in the wrist by Hanneman.[9][7]

Locke was treated at the scene and transported to Hennepin Healthcare, where emergency medics determined that Locke did not have a pulse, pronouncing him dead at 7:01 a.m.[7]

A man listed on the search warrant, who court records show was living in the apartment, had threatened officers during a 2018 arrest.[13]

An autopsy report by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, which was released on February 4, ruled the manner of Locke's death to be a homicide due to the gunshot wounds sustained during the February 2 incident.[14]

Reaction

Civil rights activists speak about the killing of Amir Locke, February 2, 2022

Officials

Interim Minneapolis police chief Amelia Huffman stated that both a knock and no-knock warrant were obtained as part of a St. Paul Police Department homicide investigation so that the SWAT team could make its best assessment.[15] Several suspects were named in the investigation, though Locke was not named in the original warrant.[15] Huffman said it was "unclear" if Locke was connected to the St. Paul investigation.[15] A spokesperson for the police department refused to comment due to the ongoing nature of the homicide investigation.[6] Body camera footage was released to the public[15] after Representative Ilhan Omar and members of the Minnesota House of Representatives called for the immediate release of the footage.[16]

Based on the still shot from the body cam footage, Huffman stated "That's the moment when the officer had to make a split-second decision to assess [...] an articulable threat, that the threat was of imminent harm, great bodily harm or death, and that he needed to take action" to protect himself and other officers.[6][17] Huffman also stated, "Ultimately, that decision of whether that threshold was met will be examined by the county attorney’s office that reviews this case."[8]

Attorney general of Minnesota Keith Ellison announced his office will work with the Hennepin County attorney's office in its review, and stated, "Amir Locke's life mattered."[16] After the shooting, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension opened an investigation and Hanneman was placed on paid administrative leave.[18][6]

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey imposed a moratorium on no-knock warrants on February 4, 2022.[19][16] Racial justice activist DeRay Mckesson and professor of police studies Peter Kraska of Eastern Kentucky University will work with the city to review possible changes to the no-knock warrant policy during the moratorium.[5][20][6]

Community and family

On February 2, activists held a vigil and asked police and city leaders for more information, including who authorized the SWAT team.[21] On February 4, during a press conference by Interim Chief Amelia Huffman and Mayor Jacob Frey, reporters and community members challenged Huffman about her initial description of the body camera footage after the footage was released, including civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong.[9][6][8]

The parents of Amir Locke said the death was an "execution",[19] and their son did not live at the apartment.[22] The family said Amir was "a deep sleeper" and may have been startled and "grabbed for his gun".[2] Locke's family hired Minnesota attorney Jeff Storms and civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci for legal counsel.[23]

On February 5, hundreds of people in Minneapolis protested Locke's death.[24][5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Amir Locke Fatal Shooting By MPD: What We Know (And Don't Know) So Far". WCCO. February 5, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Burnett, Sara (February 6, 2022). "Amir Locke, killed by Minneapolis cop, wanted music career". Miami Herald. Associated Press.
  3. ^ a b "Minneapolis police killed Amir Locke while serving a no-knock warrant". NPR.org. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Cleary, Tom (February 4, 2022). "Mark Hanneman, Minneapolis Police Officer: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Senter, Jay; Kasakove, Sophie; Olmos, Sergio (February 5, 2022). "'We Need Something Different': Protesters March in Minneapolis After Police Killing". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Karnowski, Steve; Forliti, Amy (February 4, 2022). "Parents: Amir Locke 'executed'; mayor halts no-knock entries". AP News. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Amir Locke Fatal Shooting By MPD: What We Know (And Don't Know) So Far". February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d Bailey, Holly (February 5, 2022). "Parents of Amir Locke say he was 'executed' by Minneapolis police during no-knock raid". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d "Amir Locke Shooting: Minneapolis Releases Body Cam Footage Of Deadly Police Encounter". WCCO-TV. February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  10. ^ Winter, Deena (February 2, 2022). "Minneapolis police officer shoots and kills man in early morning raid". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  11. ^ Jany, Libor (February 3, 2022). "Sources: Man shot and killed by Minneapolis police during raid was not target of investigation". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  12. ^ Jimenez, Omar (February 4, 2022). "Body camera video shows Minneapolis officers shooting Black man during no-knock warrant. Attorneys say he wasn't the target". CNN. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  13. ^ "Amir Locke shooting: Records show another man living in apartment previously threatened officers". Fox 9. February 9, 2022.
  14. ^ "Medical Examiner: Amir Locke Died Of Multiple Gunshot Wounds, Manner Of Death A Homicide". [WCCO-TV]]. February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d "Amir Locke Shooting: Minneapolis Releases Body Cam Footage Of Deadly Police Encounter". WCCO-TV. February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  16. ^ a b c Jiménez, Jesus; Holpuch, Amanda (February 3, 2022). "Minneapolis Suspends No-Knock Warrants After Police Killing". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  17. ^ "Sources: Minneapolis Police Would Not Serve Search Warrant Unless It Was 'No-Knock'". February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  18. ^ Chappell, Bill (February 4, 2022). "Minneapolis police kill a Black man while executing a no-knock warrant". NPR. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  19. ^ a b News, A. B. C. "Parents: Amir Locke 'executed'; mayor halts no-knock entries". ABC News. Retrieved February 5, 2022. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  20. ^ Bellware, Kim (February 6, 2022). "Minneapolis suspends use of no-knock warrants as scrutiny of contentious police tactic mounts". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  21. ^ Jany, Libor; Simons, Abby (February 2, 2022). "Interim chief: Man shot, killed by Minneapolis police during search was armed". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  22. ^ Forliti, Amy; Karnowski, Steve (February 4, 2022). "Police video shows man shot by officer was on couch, had gun". mySA. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  23. ^ "Attorneys, parents of Amir Locke call for justice following release of bodycam video in his death". KSTP.com Eyewitness News. February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  24. ^ "Hundreds in Minneapolis protest police killing of Black man in raid". Reuters. February 6, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
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