Amir Locke shooting

by Erin Guo

Photo from Reuters

Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man, was fatally shot on February 2nd by a Minneapolis Police Officer inside his apartment in Minnesota. Police carried out a no-knock warrant for a homicide investigation near St. Paul, which was imposed by the Minneapolis mayor.

A body camera showed a video of the raid which was released by the Minneapolis Police Department. Startling him from his sleep, Locke reached for a legal firearm which was to protect himself when the police fired at least three times in response.

Evidence from body camera footage shows that Locke’s gun was pointed down and his finger was not on the trigger but on the barrel. According to the Police Department, the officer who fired at Locke was Officer Mark Hanneman. Locke died of multiple gunshot wounds at the Hennepin County Medical Examiner.

Now, many protest their frustration and anger over the management of law enforcement. Tensions over racial justice and police violence were already high in this city, with the trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer who was convicted of the murder of Geroge Floyd, being held there. A caravan of protesters drove downtown on Friday night and a peaceful protest followed the next day.

After George Floyd was murdered in 2020, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey issued a new policy requiring officers to announce their presence and purpose before entering for no-knock warrants.

Before this policy, 139 no-knock warrants were being carried out per year, according to the mayor’s office. Now, there is even more scrutiny of the use of these no-knock warrants and to restrict surprise searches.