Protesters in Minneapolis demand firing of interim police chief, officer who shot Amir Locke
Demonstrators in Minneapolis made their way to City Hall on Monday, where they called on Mayor Jacob Frey to fire the interim police chief and the officer who shot and killed Amir Locke last week during a raid.
Locke, a 22-year-old Black man, was shot on Wednesday morning while police officers carried out a no-knock warrant at a Minneapolis apartment. Locke, who was not listed on the warrant, was on a couch in the living room when officers entered. He is seen on body cam footage wrapped up in a blanket, and there is a gun in his hand. Officer Mark Hanneman fired three shots, hitting Locke.
Locke was a DoorDash driver, and his family said he legally purchased a gun for protection, due to an increase in carjackings. "The Second Amendment is for Black people, too," Locke's cousin, Nneka Constantino, said on Monday. "Our family is not naive. So we understand that it was not necessarily a person but a system of injustice that has killed Amir Locke."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Civil rights attorney and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong said she was "honored" to stand in solidarity with the Locke family, but the "reality is that we should not have to be here. How many more Black lives have to be lost and needlessly taken by those who are supposed to protect and serve?"
Armstrong called for the immediate firing of Hanneman and either the firing or resignation of interim Minneapolis Police Chief Amelia Huffman, saying she has failed "miserably" at her job. In the wake of Locke's shooting, Huffman did not "speak truthfully or candidly" about what happened during the raid, Armstrong continued, and "even after the body camera footage was released, she continued to distort the truth." Locke was referred to as a suspect, which he was not, and there was a focus placed on his gun, which he owned legally, Armstrong said.
She also brought up appointments Huffman has made in the department, including promoting an officer who was previously fired to the role of training director. "We ask that Mayor Jacob Frey step up to the plate immediately," Armstrong said. "No more excuses, no more hiding behind policies that do not fully get implemented."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
'Republicans want to silence Israel's opponents'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - priority delivery, USPS on fire, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years
Speed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market guns
Speed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud
Speed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Goon Squad' cops sentenced for torturing 2 Black men
Speed Read The former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Michigan shooter's dad guilty of manslaughter
speed read James Crumbley failed to prevent his son from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Shooting at Chiefs victory rally kills 1, injures 21
Speed Read Gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade in Missouri
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published