Attorneys, parents of Amir Locke call for justice following release of bodycam video in his death

Friday morning, the parents of Amir Locke — the man who was fatally shot by Minneapolis police on Wednesday morning — and civil rights attorneys called for justice and accountability.

National civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, as well as Minnesota attorney Jeff Storms, sharply criticized Minneapolis police and city officials for failing to make the necessary reforms that could’ve prevented Locke’s death, specifically regarding no-knock warrants.

“No-knock warrants have deadly consequences for innocent, law-abiding Black citizens,” Crump said, adding that he’s “shocked” that another deadly police incident took place in Minnesota given the reforms Minneapolis and state leaders vowed.

“This poor young man is awoken from his slumber and given no opportunity to survive,” Storms said. Storms added, “We have a city that just refuses to learn,” questioning whether Minneapolis leaders can be trusted to make necessary reforms.

The attorneys noted the similarities between Locke’s death and the death of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot in Louisville, Kentucky in 2020, and criticized Minneapolis officials for not learning from Taylor’s death.

Storms also highlighted the statement issued by the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus — which called Locke’s death “completely avoidable” — and commended the organization’s leaders.

Locke’s parents described their son — who was the third-oldest of their eight children — as a respectful man who “enjoyed learning and asking questions,” and wanted to be part of the music industry, help youth and “change lives.”

“My baby had a beautiful spirit,” his mother, Karen Wells, said, adding, “Amir was all about changing the world.”

Wells and Locke’s father, Andre Locke, explained how they raised Amir to be respectful, particularly with law enforcement.

“My son, Amir, did what was right. He did all the things he was supposed to do,” Andre Locke said. “Amir did what any law-abiding citizen, any reasonable law-abiding citizen would do to protect himself,” he added.

Andre Locke also said, what stuck out most to him when seeing the video of Amir’s death, was that “he never got a chance to see or know who killed him.”

Locke’s parents said they also had plans for Amir to move to Dallas in about a month to better help him start his music and career pursuits before possibly coming back to Minneapolis.

Additionally, they thanked the community for their support and for joining their call for justice.

Attorneys for Locke’s family also later released the following statement:

“Despite the deplorable lack of transparency from the Minneapolis PD in the brutal and senseless killing of Amir Locke, we are continuing to learn more about the disturbing details that led to Amir’s death. Today, it was reported that the search warrant used to enter the residence where Amir was staying was changed from a ‘knock’ warrant to a ‘no-knock’ warrant at the insistence of the Minneapolis police. This inexplicable, yet deliberate choice needlessly ended Amir’s life. It’s past time that the Minneapolis PD be transparent and accountable to Amir’s family and the community that they are sworn to protect. No-knock raids at the hands of law enforcement continue to take the lives of innocent Black people. We ask that just as people raised their voices for Breonna Taylor, they do the same for Amir Locke. Enough is enough.”

Ben Crump, Jeff Storms, Antonio Romanucci

Locke’s parents and Storms are expected to speak again during a separate press conference Friday at 2 p.m. at Minneapolis City Hall.

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