US police release footage of deadly shooting of Black man Amir Locke

The body-cam video shows a SWAT officer shot dead Amir Locke less than ten seconds after entering the crime scene on a search warrant.

Amir Locke, who was on a couch, starts to rise from beneath a blanket, with a gun in his hand, when police fire three shots.
AFP

Amir Locke, who was on a couch, starts to rise from beneath a blanket, with a gun in his hand, when police fire three shots.

US authorities in the city of Minneapolis, where George Floyd was murdered in 2020, have published a body-cam video, showing the police shooting of a 22-year-old Black man.

In the video which was released on Thursday, a SWAT team officer uses a key to unlock the door and then a group of officers enter while shouting "Police, search warrant!"

Amir Locke, who was on a couch, starts to rise from beneath a blanket, with a gun in his hand, when police fire three shots.

The total time between the officers' entrance and the shots fired was less than ten seconds.

Locke was pronounced dead at the Hennepin County medical centre.

According to the police,  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.

Interim Minneapolis Police Department chief Amelia Huffman said the county's attorney will review the facts, in response to a question pointing out that the video appeared to show that Locke's gun was pointed towards the floor.

"As there's a gun emerging in your direction, you are forced to make a split-second decision on when it's a threat," Huffman said during a press conference on Thursday.

READ MORE: US police under scrutiny after new fatal shooting of Black man

Loading...

No-knock warrants

Conversations on the police radio prior to the Minneapolis events on Wednesday suggest that the police had planned a "no-knock" entrance, the Star-Tribune reported.

The newspaper reported that Locke was not named in the search warrant, but said he was related to a suspect in the investigation of a homicide.

His mother told the Star Tribune: "We want justice for our son."

The family's attorneys said in a statement on Thursday that he "legally possessed a firearm," and had no past criminal record.

The family has retained lawyer Ben Crump, who has represented multiple Black victims of police violence, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, whose killings in 2020 sparked nationwide protests.

"Like the case of Breonna Taylor, the tragic killing of Amir Locke shows a pattern of no-knock warrants having deadly consequences for Black Americans," said Crump in a statement.

"We will continue pushing for answers in this case so that Amir's grieving family can get the closure they deserve," he added.

READ MORE: US opens police-bias probe into Breonna Taylor's killing

Route 6