Amir Locke Shooting: 5 Things to Know About Police Killing of Aspiring Musician

(Photo : KEREM YUCEL)
US-POLICE-HOMICIDE-MINORITIES
A demonstrator holds a photo of Amir Locke during a rally in protest of his killing, outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 5, 2022. - Authorities in the US city of Minneapolis, where George Floyd was murdered in 2020, published body-cam video on February 3 showing the police shooting of a 22-year-old African American man. According to the police, Amir Locke was shot on Wednesday by officers who were executing a search warrant on the apartment he was in, after Locke pulled a gun from beneath a blanket. (Photo by Kerem Yucel / AFP)

Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man who died on Wednesday after being shot by police during the execution of a no-knock warrant, continues to be the subject of protests in Minneapolis.

The shooting has also prompted the nation to rethink the subject of no-knock warrants, which was a hot topic after Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in her Louisville home in 2020.

Here are five facts to know regarding Locke's assassination by the police:

1. Police Did Not Name Amir Locke in the Warrant

As previously reported by Blavity, Locke was not identified in the initial warrant because he was sleeping at his cousin's Minneapolis apartment when authorities searched it.

The search warrant, which was issued in connection with a homicide investigation in St. Paul, is still sealed, according to police. The warrants are sealed to "preserve the integrity of the investigation" and "unless the court instructs otherwise," according to Steve Linders, the St. Paul Police Department's public information officer.

2. Amir Locke's Parents Say He Was a Legal Gun Owner

On Friday, Amir Locke's parents verified that he had a lawful weapon in his possession. Locke's mother, Karen Wells, told CNN';s Don Lemon that her son "made sure that he did his homework and that everything was going to be legal." Wells also expressed concern about Locke possessing a pistol because of what the police might do if they saw him with it.

3. Derek Chauvin Trial Judge Signed Off on No-Knock Warrant

The no-knock search warrant that led to Amir's murder was approved by Judge Peter Cahill, who was propelled into the national limelight during the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, according to WCCO. According to WCCO-TV, St. Paul police first requested a "knock-and-announce" warrant from the Minneapolis Police Department.

The plans were modified when MPD declined to fulfill the first request. It's not uncommon for police in St. Paul to get the help of other authorities to carry out a search warrant.

4. Amir Locke Didn't Have Any Criminal Record

Their loved one, Amir's family stated, was a young guy with high goals, not someone with a criminal record. Her son just filed paperwork to start a music company, according to Wells. According to ABC News, he planned to move to Dallas to be closer to his mother and pursue a career as a hip-hop musician, following in his father's footsteps.

5. The No-Knock Warrant Was Originally a Knock Warrant

Not only because activists have long criticized the practice, but also because the warrant was never intended to be a no-knock, according to KARE, the no-knock warrant that led to Locke's murder has been called into doubt.

A no-knock order was not requested by the police in St. Paul when they first requested a warrant. When the Minneapolis Police Department was requested to execute the warrant, it was said to have altered the request.

Both warrants were secured so that the SWAT team could examine the situation and make the best judgment possible, according to interim Minneapolis police chief Amelia Huffman, who told reporters on Thursday.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will be examining what "imminent danger" would have been used to support this no-knock request, according to a representative for the city of Minneapolis.

Amir Locke's Cousin Arrested

A 17-year-old was detained on Monday in connection with a homicide investigation that led to the death of Amir Locke, who was shot and killed last week during a predawn "no-knock" raid by a Minneapolis police officer.

In court filings, the adolescent was described as Locke's cousin. In the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Otis Rodney Elder on Jan. 10, prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder.

The teen suspect and his associates were tracked down to the Bolero Flats apartment building in Minneapolis, where search warrants were served on three apartments: the one the teen shared with his mother, another two doors down that belonged to his associate, and a seventh-floor apartment that belonged to the teen's brother's girlfriend, according to USA Today.

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