Topline
Minnesota prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against a Minneapolis police officer in the death of Amir Locke, a Black man who was shot and killed by police during a no-knock raid in February, prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday.
A photo of Amir Locke at the George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 22, 2022.
Key Facts
Prosecutors said there was “insufficient admissible evidence” to file criminal charges against police officer Mark Hanneman, who shot and killed 22-year-old Locke during a no-knock warrant raid of an apartment associated with Locke’s cousin, who was a murder suspect.
According to a police body camera footage, SWAT officers entered the dark apartment, shouting, to which Locke, who was sleeping on a couch wrapped in a blanket, responded by poking his head out holding a gun in his right hand, followed by three gunshots.
The State would not be able to disprove “beyond a reasonable doubt any of the elements of Minnesota’s use-of-deadly-force statute” that authorized Hanneman’s use of force, according to the joint statement by Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Prosecutors also said they wouldn’t be able to prove criminal charges against other officers who had a say in the decisions made leading up to Locke’s death.
The statement did acknowledge that Locke was a victim who may not have died if a no-knock warrant wasn’t used in the case.
Chief Critic
Locke’s mother, Karen Wells, has called her son’s death an “execution.” Locke’s father, Andre Locke, said his son responded to the no-knock raid just as “any reasonable law-abiding citizen” would have done to protect themselves, and that his son was not given a chance to respond to officers.
Key Background
Locke was not named in the knock and no-knock warrants for the murder investigation that led to his death, but his cousin Makhi Camden Speed was. Minneapolis police were carrying a no-knock warrant at an apartment associated with Speed when Locke was fatally shot. Police arrested Speed a few days after Locke’s death and he has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder for shooting and killing a man in January.
Tangent
Locke’s death ignited renewed calls for a ban or limit on no-knock raids, which many cities have implemented following the death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot by Kentucky police in a no-knock warrant entry in 2020. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement Tuesday a new policy bans no-knock raids and mandates officers to knock and announce their presence and purpose, and then wait before entry.
Further Reading
No charges filed in no-knock warrant killing of Amir Locke (Associated Press)
Amir Locke: Here’s What We Know About His Fatal Shooting By Minneapolis Police (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisakim/2022/04/06/amir-locke-no-charges-will-be-filed-against-minneapolis-police-who-fatally-shot-him/