Protesters gather in downtown Minneapolis in reaction to fatal police shooting of Amir Locke
Hundreds took to the streets of downtown Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon, many carrying signs saying, “Black Lives Matter,” and “Frey Lied, Amir died,” days after Amir Locke was fatally shot by a Minneapolis police SWAT team executing a no-knock warrant on behalf of a St. Paul Police Department homicide investigation.
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Many of the peaceful protesters’ demands included the resignation of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman and the judge who signed the warrant, as well as Officer Mark Hanneman and his fellow officers who executed the warrant be fired and prosecuted.
“I’m here because I want to be alive and not another hashtag,” protester Sol B., who lives in Minneapolis, said. “A lot went through my head, like, yet another Black man, yet another innocent person. Another victim of no-knock warrants because we’ve had this happen before, and it’s like at any given time that could be me, that could be somebody I know, that could be somebody I care about.”
“I’m kinda numb, this thing happens a lot,” Mercy, who is 16, said. “More often than not it’s not even shown on the news. But every single time it’s that feeling of like it could’ve been my cousin, my brothers, my friends.”
Thursday evening, after growing calls from lawmakers and community members, the Minneapolis Police Department released a clip of body camera footage of the deadly shooting — and its release raised questions and sparked outrage among many due to discrepancies between what MPD had said a day prior and what the video showed.
In a press conference shortly after the footage came out, Huffman shared that Locke was not named in the original search warrant, and that “at this point, it is unclear if or how he is connected to St. Paul’s investigation.”
When those in the crowd called into question her assertions that the officers announced their presence before entering the apartment, Huffman simply responded: “I definitely encourage everyone to view the video and make that assessment.” More confusion arose as to Huffman’s statement a day prior that Locke had pointed a gun in the direction of officers in comparison to the body camera video, and Huffman said that the county attorney would be “carefully examining all of those factors.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the following day they’d be reviewing the case together. The police shooting is under investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
On Friday, Frey issued a statement saying he’d placed a moratorium on no-knock search warrants, and on Saturday, he released a follow-up statement in an attempt to clarify a swirl of questions from the community.
“Mayor Frey’s policy banning the execution of unannounced entries while serving no-knock warrants has been in effect since November 30, 2020. While investigators review this policy in the context of the killing of Amir Locke, the fact remains, Amir Locke was killed. For this reason, Mayor Frey has instituted a moratorium on receiving or executing any no-knock warrants, announced and unannounced, until the policy can be reviewed by external experts.”
MAYOR JACOB FREY’S OFFICE
Also Saturday, the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis released a statement on the deadly police shooting, which read in part:
“Policing, particularly with a SWAT team, is a dangerous, high-stress profession where officers are forced to make important split-second decisions in defense of themselves and fellow officers, especially when weapons are involved. Weapons are drawn and used when officers are faced with significant safety threats… No officer goes into a dangerous setting like this wanting to use a weapon. That decision was not taken lightly, and the impact of the use of deadly force will affect these officers, their families, and the family of Mr. Locke for the rest of their lives.”
POLICE OFFICERS FEDERATION OF MINNEAPOLIS
Gov. Tim Walz authorized the National Guard to be available to assist St. Paul, as the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers picks up again this week, and to Minneapolis, should the need arise in light of Locke’s death.
Saturday’s protest in Minneapolis remained peaceful.
Protester Mercy hoped that Congress would take action, “and serious action, not just words, not just chance.”
“I want them to actually go in, write laws and support them, and to do the thing that we put them into office for,” she said. “I want them to take it as importantly as we do, ’cause it’s our lives, these are our families. These are our brothers, these are our kids, these are our friends, and it’s important.”