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© Reuters. Amir Locke (22) holds a gun as he unfolds a blanket earlier than being shot and killed by Minneapolis police’s SWAT group, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., February 2, 2022, on this display screen seize taken from a video. Video taken February 2, 2022. Minneapolis Police
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By Shubham Kalia and Shivani Tanna
(Reuters) -Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey introduced on Friday a moratorium on no-knock warrants after police fatally shot a 22-year-old Black man throughout a raid on an condo.
The Minneapolis Police Division launched video and a nonetheless picture exhibiting the person, Amir Locke, holding a gun as he twisted round beneath a blanket after being roused by officers who entered the condo on Wednesday to hold out a search warrant.
A no-knock warrant authorizes cops to enter a property with out first knocking and asserting their presence.
“To make sure security of each the general public and officers till a brand new coverage is crafted, I am issuing a moratorium on each the request and execution of such warrants in Minneapolis,” Frey stated in a press release.
The incident is the newest to place the Minneapolis police division beneath scrutiny.
Nearly two years in the past, George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was killed by a white officer who knelt on his neck for over 9 minutes throughout an arrest. Outrage over Floyd’s dying sparked a nationwide motion difficult police brutality and bias within the U.S. legal justice system.
The video of Locke’s arrest, which was launched on Thursday, exhibits police unlocking his condo with a key, and officers shouting, “Police, search warrant, get on the bottom, get on the fucking floor,” as they entered.
An officer then kicks on the sofa the place Locke was mendacity and as Locke turns, an arm comes out from beneath the blanket, exhibiting a gun held within the hand. Nearly instantly, police fired a minimum of three pictures.
Locke was not named within the search warrant, which was issued in relation to a murder investigation that’s being run by the neighboring Saint Paul Police Division, Minneapolis Police Division interim chief Amelia Huffman stated on Thursday.
Locke’s mother and father described their son as a gifted musician, beloved member of his group, and law-abiding citizen at a information convention on Friday with their lawyer, distinguished civil rights legal professional Ben Crump, who additionally represented Floyd’s household.
“I will battle on daily basis, all through the day, three hundred and sixty five days, to make it possible for Amir Rahkare Locke will get justice for being executed by the MPD,” stated Locke’s mom, Karen Locke. “We’re going to make it possible for we converse loudly for Amir.”
In a press release launched on Wednesday, the Minneapolis Police Division stated that the person had a “handgun pointed within the course of the officers.”
Throughout a information convention on Thursday, Huffman stated the county’s legal professional will evaluate the details, in response to a query noting that the video appeared to point out that Locke’s gun was pointed towards the ground.
“As there is a gun rising in your course, you’re pressured to make a split-second choice on when it is a risk,” Huffman added.
In commenting on the search warrant within the murder probe, Huffman stated, “It’s unclear at the moment how he or if he was related to the Saint Paul’s investigation.”
She added that officers from the Saint Paul’s Police Division had been on the scene later and had recovered attainable proof for the murder investigation.
In keeping with the household’s legal professionals, Locke had no legal historical past and legally possessed a firearm on the time of his dying.
“Within the wake of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the Metropolis of Minneapolis advised the general public that it was limiting the usage of no-knock warrants to ‘restrict the probability of dangerous outcomes.’ Lower than two years later, Amir Locke and his household needlessly suffered the worst attainable consequence,” Jeff Storms, one other lawyer representing Locke’s household within the case, stated in a press release.
Taylor, a Black girl, was shot and killed when armed police raided her Kentucky condo in March 2020. Floyd was killed in Could 2020.
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