Bodycam Video Released in Fatal Minneapolis Police Shooting of Amir Locke
A still image from bodycam video released by the Minneapolis Police Department
The Minneapolis Police Department early Thursday evening released body-worn camera video of the fatal police shooting of Amir Rahkare Locke, 22, during a SWAT team warrant service at a downtown apartment building shortly before 7 a.m. yesterday.
MPD Interim Chief Amelia Huffman in a still image from a KARE 11 livestream on Thursday, Feb. 3
The video shows officers entering the apartment unit while announcing the search warrant, with guns drawn and flashlights on.
One officer can be seen kicking a couch where Locke was lying.
Locke, wrapped in a blanket on the couch, is awakened and rises from the couch before he’s shot by an officer multiple times.
YOUTUBE: Watch the bodycam video (Warning: graphic)
The clip, which is slowed down and lasts 55 seconds, does not include the moments directly after the shots were fired.
The video appears to show Locke was armed with a handgun in his right hand. At real-time speed, the clip lasts about 15 seconds.
MPD’s Interim Chief Amelia Huffman said SWAT officers were serving a warrant related to an ongoing Saint Paul homicide investigation and “loudly and repeatedly” announced their presence after gaining access to the apartment unit at the Bolero Flats building at 1117 Marquette Ave. with the use of a key fob.
UPDATE: Arrest Made in Saint Paul Murder; Suspect in Warrant That Led to Amir Locke Killing
About 9 seconds after they entered, Huffman said Locke was met by officers inside the seventh floor unit while he was holding a handgun, “pointed in the direction of officers,” a media release said. One officer fired his weapon, striking Locke twice in the chest and once in the wrist.
Locke was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Two other people were inside the apartment at the time: a 23-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, both from Minneapolis, but their connection to the incident is not yet clear.
Family members and local activists say Locke did not live at the building, was not named on the warrant and had a permit to carry a firearm.
MPD Chief Huffman confirmed one of those allegations, saying that Locke was not named on the initial warrant that was issued for three different units inside the Bolero Flats building.
The officer who fired his weapon was identified in city documents as Mark Hanneman, a Minneapolis officer since 2015 and previously an officer in Hutchinson, Minn. A city personnel file lists three complaints have been filed in Hanneman’s tenure at MPD, with all three cleared and no discipline issued.
Huffman said a loaded handgun was found at the scene inside the apartment unit and MPD shared two photos of the firearm they say Locke was holding.
In a media conference around 8 p.m. Thursday, Mayor Frey said viewing the newly released video was "gut-wrenching” and said it “raises about as many questions as it does answers."
The media conference was interrupted by local activist Nekima Levy-Armstrong, who took to the podium and chastised the mayor and interim chief for what she said was a lack of transparency.
Asked why Locke was referred to as a “suspect” in the initial MPD media release, Frey said he didn’t know and Huffman referred to Saint Paul Police Department’s investigation. The MPD SWAT team was carrying out the warrant for SPPD, authorities said.
“It remains unclear if or how Mr. Locke is connected to Saint Paul's investigation and more information will be coming as Saint Paul digs further into the case,” Huffman said.
As questions grew louder from reporters and others at the media conference, Frey and Huffman left the room abruptly.
Locke’s family is being represented by attorney Ben Crump, who also represented the family of George Floyd after he was killed by former MPD officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020. Crump and Locke’s family planned a media conference of their own on Friday morning.
UPDATE: Arrest Made in Saint Paul Murder; Suspect in Warrant That Led to Amir Locke Killing
PREVIOUSLY: Minneapolis SWAT Officer Shoots, Kills Man During Search Warrant
YOUTUBE: Watch the bodycam video (Warning: graphic)
