Officer who fatally shot Amir Locke during no knock warrant will not face charges

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No charges will be filed in the fatal police shooting of Amir Locke Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, announced Wednesday.

Amir Locke was not a suspect

Locke was fatally shot by Minneapolis police in February as officers were executing a “no-knock” search warrant on the apartment he was in.

On police body cam, an officer can be seen shooting Locke within 10 seconds of entering the home. Locke was laying on the couch under a blanket. He was also holding a gun, which his family says he had a permit for, but he did not appear to be pointing it at any officers when the first shots are fired.

Locke was the cousin of a homicide suspect who has since been charged in connection with a St. Paul killing. But Locke was not named in the search warrant applications and was not suspected of any wrongdoing.

However, the attorney’s office stated that after a review of the case, there wasn’t sufficient evidence to file criminal charges.

“Under current law – and as awful as the circumstances of this tragedy are – there is not sufficient admissible evidence to support a criminal charge,” both offices said in their statement.

According to an FAQ released by the Attorney General’s office, Locke being sleep and not being allowed time to fully discern what was going on, was recognized but ultimately was not enough in bringing criminal charges.

Prosecutors said they could not demonstrate Hanneman’s decision to use deadly force “was objectively unreasonable” based on the circumstances in the moment — he was out in front, mere feet from someone with a gun, with nowhere to take cover.

“We recognize that Mr. Locke may have been sleeping and that he, like others in the apartment, may have perceived the officers’ entry to be someone breaking into the apartment,” the FAQ reads. “We do not dispute this and believe that it is possible that is exactly what happened here.”

The attorney general’s office also published a 44-page joint report reviewing the shooting, as well as an “expert report.”

Both offices pointed to the no knock warrant and had it not been one, Locke would still be here.

“Amir Locke’s life mattered,” read a statement from the Hennepin County Attorney. “He was a young man with plans to move to Dallas, where he would be closer to his mom and — he hoped — build a career as a hip-hop artist, following in the musical footsteps of his father.”

“This tragedy may not have occurred absent the no-knock warrant used in this case.”