Criminal Law
No Charges Are Filed Against the Officer Who Fatally Shot Amir Locke
Minnesota prosecutors declined to file charges Wednesday against a Minneapolis police SWAT team officer who fatally shot Amir Locke while executing an early morning no-knock search warrant in a downtown apartment in February.
Locke, 22, who was Black, was staying on a couch in his cousin’s apartment when authorities entered it on Feb. 2 without knocking as part of an investigation into a homicide in neighboring St. Paul.
Prosecutors said body camera video showed that Locke pointed a gun at Officer Mark Hanneman, justifying his use of deadly force. Locke’s family has disputed that, arguing that the footage suggests Locke was startled awake and that he grabbed for a gun he was licensed to carry.
