Protesters are demanding justice after a 22-year-old Black man was shot and killed by Minneapolis police on Feb. 2. Amir Locke was fatally shot within nine seconds as officers served a no-knock search warrant. According to Daily Kos, interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman told reporters that because Locke reached over and grabbed a gun that was next to where he was possibly sleeping, and pointed it “in the direction of officers,” officers reacted by shooting him. Locke suffered two gunshot wounds to the chest and one in his right wrist and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Protesters and others are demanding justice because not only did Locke legally own his gun, but his name wasn’t even on the search warrants used to carry out the home invasion. Additionally, Locke was called a “suspect” four separate times during a press conference about the shooting.
Police body cam video showed an officer kicking the couch where Locke’s family said he was sleeping. The graphic video footage, which we chose not to embed within this story, depicts Locke wrapped in a blanket, beginning to move, with a pistol in his hand just before he is shot.
His parents, Andre Locke and Karen Wells, said their son was “executed” after being startled from a deep sleep.
According to PBS News, on Sunday at least 50 cars joined police accountability groups outside what is believed to be Huffman’s home, calling for her resignation.
“We’re asking for her job,” activist Toussaint Morrison said during the rally, “because it seems like the only time they pay attention is when it affects their jobs or their money. But we pull up when it affects our lives.”
The protest follows a march Saturday that drew hundreds of demonstrators to the streets of Minneapolis.
Locke’s parents are also calling for an end to no-knock warrants in the city, describing them as a failure of law enforcement that disproportionately impacts people of color, CNN reported.
"The no-knock warrant is what caused Amir's death," his father Andre Locke told CNN on Monday. "The whole system. He wasn't killed, he wasn't murdered, he was executed," Locke's mother Karen Wells said.
As a result of the ongoing calls to end no-knock warrants, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced a temporary end to no-knock arrest warrants.
“No matter what information comes to light, it won’t change the fact that Amir Locke’s life was cut short,” Frey said in a statement speaking about a moratorium on the execution of no-knock warrants.
“To ensure safety of both the public and officers until a new policy is crafted, I’m issuing a moratorium on both the request and execution of such warrants in Minneapolis.”
As calls for justice for Locke continue, the St. Paul Police Department announced Tuesday on Twitter that they arrested a homicide suspect in connection to the warrant that led to Locke’s death. According to CBS News affiliate WCCO, a 17-year-old identified as Locke’s cousin Mekhi Speed was arrested in connection with the homicide of Otis Elder, a 38-year-old father of two, who was killed on Jan. 10. The motive is unclear at this time.
"This arrest is related to the search warrants that were served last week in Minneapolis. The search warrants related to case will likely be unsealed after charges have been filed," the SPPD said in a tweet.
Investigators say police attempted to enter three locations to find Speed. When they didn't find him in the first two, they entered the third apartment unit, where Locke was sleeping on the couch. Locke’s brother and his girlfriend were present at the time.
According to reports, Speed is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday. Prosecutors are seeking to have him tried as an adult.