Black man killed by Minneapolis police was not named in no-knock warrant | Minnesota

New details have emerged about a 22-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by police in Minneapolis during execution of a no-knock warrant, with police officials confirming the man was not named in any search warrant.

During a press conference on Thursday held by the Minneapolis police department (MPD), officials confirmed that Amir Locke, who was shot on Wednesday morning during the search, was not named in any search warrant carried out by MPD police. Locke was shot by the Minneapolis officer Mark Hanneman, according to city ​​officials and documents.

The video of the police shooting, which was also released on Thursday, seemed to contradict early claims from police officials that officers had “loudly made themselves known before entering the apartment”, where Locke was. The video instead showed officers announcing their presence once they were already inside the apartment.

The video released by the Minneapolis police department shows officers entering the apartment unit by unlocking the door with a key, shouting “police, search warrant, get on the ground, get on the fucking ground,” as they entered the unit, reported Reuters.

An officer then kicks a couch Locke was lying on underneath a blanket, appearing to wake Locke up. Locke, who was holding a handgun, looks up to see officers surrounding him and begins to stand, with the handgun becoming visible.

Almost immediately, officers fired three shots, killing Locke who was still twisted up in the blanket.

Locke’s parents, Andre and Karen Locke, declined to comment on the video, with his mother telling the StarTribune“We want justice for our children.”

Nekima Levy Armstrong, a community organizer and a civil rights attorney, said that Locke’s family told her that Locke was a registered gun owner with a concealed carry permit who did not live in the apartment and was not being searched for by police, reported CBS.

Armstrong also confirmed that Locke was not named in the search warrant carried out on Wednesday.

Hanneman was hired by the MPD in 2015 and had received three complaints that were all closed with disciplinary action, according to city records. A fourth complaint from 2018 was also recorded according to data collected by the Communities United Against Police Brutality organization, CBS reports.

Hanneman has been placed on administrative leave, which is routine, pending an investigation.

The family is being represented by the civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has previously worked with the families of police shooting victims, including the family of George Floyd.

In a statementCrump compared the shooting of Locke to the 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, during a police raid.

“Like the case of Breonna Taylor, the tragic killing of Amir Locke shows a pattern of no-knock warrants having deadly consequences for Black Americans,” said Crump.

“This is yet another example of why we need to put an end to these kinds of search warrants so that one day, Black Americans will be able to sleep safely in their beds at night.”