No charges will be filed in the death of Amir Locke, a Black 22-year-old man fatally shot by a SWAT team officer during a no-knock warrant raid in Minneapolis in February, officials announced Wednesday.
Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement Wednesday they are declining to file criminal charges in his death.
The officials said they determined that after a “thorough review,” “there is insufficient admissible evidence to file criminal charges in this case.”
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The statement said the state would be unable to disprove “beyond a reasonable doubt” elements of Minnesota’s use-of-deadly-force statute that would have authorized use of force by Mark Hanneman, the officer who shot Locke.
The attorneys also said the state would be unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt a criminal charge against any other officer involved in the “decision-making that led to the death of Amir Locke.”
Locke was killed on Feb. 2 after officers stormed into the apartment he was in and found him on the couch covered in a blanket. Minneapolis police said the officer opened fire after seeing the barrel of a gun come into view from under the blanket.
Locke was shot three times in the incident.
The attorneys explained that under Minnesota law, peace officers are authorized to use deadly force while in the line of duty to protect other officers or another from death or great bodily harm.
The statement said that the firearm seen in Locke’s hand “pointed in the direction of at least one officer” and Hanneman perceived the movements as a threat of death or great bodily harm.
Locke was not a suspect in the investigation connected to the search warrants.
His death once against rocked the city of Minneapolis, nearly two years after the death of George Floyd by then Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin.
“Amir Locke’s life mattered,” the attorneys said in a joint statement. “He should be alive today, and his death is a tragedy. Amir Locke was not a suspect in the underlying Saint Paul criminal investigation nor was he named in the search warrants. Amir Locke is a victim.”
“This tragedy may not have occurred absent the no-knock warrant used in this case,” the statement added.
The county attorney and attorney general met with Locke’s family Wednesday morning to share their condolences again ahead of the announcement.
The use of the no-knock warrants was the crux of heated criticism against the Minneapolis Police Department — especially in the wake of Breonna Taylor’s death in Kentucky.
After Locke’s death, Mayor Jacob Frey halted no-knock warrants. On Tuesday, the mayor enacted a new warrant and entry policy that prohibits the application for and execution of all no-knock search warrants by Minneapolis police.
The department remains the subject of a patterns and practices probe by the Justice Department.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
