The case has reopened the wounds caused by the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, under the knee of a white policeman, in this city of Minnesota.
Le Monde
An african american killed by the police in Minneapolis: the case revives the trauma sparked by the murder of George Floyd by a white policeman in May 2020 in this metropolis of the north of the United States. The parents of Amir Locke, 22 years old, dead, Wednesday 2 February, in the early morning during a search in an apartment, promised Friday to fight to “get justice”.
“Disparked and angry”, they denounced an “execution”. They accuse the agents to have “left no chance” to their son. On a video broadcast by the police, we see police enter with a key, then loudly. Amir Locke, asleep on the living room sofa, then agitates under his duvet, grabs a pistol and straightened slightly. Shots are resonating. Everything lasts less than nine seconds.
“A mother should never see her son being executed like that,” said Karen Wells, Amir Locke’s mother, at a press conference. Andre Locke emphasized that his son did not have a locker and had a weapon license. “He had heavy sleep” and “did what every respectful citizen of the laws would have done in the same circumstances, black as white”. For him, the police “could have done otherwise”, especially by ordering him to let go of his weapon before shooting.
The Attorney General of the State of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, a “promised” to conduct a “rigorous and fair” examination of the facts. “Amir Locke’s life was counting,” he added in a statement, with reference to the Black Lives Matter emblematic slogan (the black lives count).
Suspension of “No Knock” mandates
Without prejudging the conclusions of the investigation, the Governor Democrat, Tim Walz, noted “the need to go further in the reforms” of the police adopted after the death of George Floyd, in particular “about the mandates Search “.
The mandate at the heart of the drama did not mention Amir Locke. It had been issued as part of an open homicide survey in the neighboring town of Saint-Paul and authorized agents not to announce, according to the Chive de la Police of Minneapolis, Amelia Huffman, cited by Radio NPR .
These so-called “No Knock” mandates (without knocking on the door) were involved in several police violence files. Minnesota had restricted their use after the major protests of the summer 2020.
The Mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, announced Friday night the immediate suspension of this type of mandates in his city, and promised a thorough examination of the practices of the police.
They “continue to steal innocent black lives,” denounced Amir Locke’s parents’ lawyer, Ben Crump, who also represented the Floyd family. According to him, Amir Locke had bought a weapon because he was delivered and that he wanted to protect himself. “Black men have, like everyone else, the right to own weapons,” he said.