Terrifying Amir Locke video shows Minneapolis cops bust into black man’s apartment & shoot him dead as he lies on couch

THIS is the terrifying moment cops burst into a black man’s apartment and shot him dead while he was lying on a couch.

The shocking body camera footage was released by Minneapolis officials Thursday night showing police raiding the home and yelling: “Police! Search warrant,” as they came through the door.

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The short video appears to show a black man apparently asleep who is holding a gun upon awakening and was shot and killed.

The man was not named in any search warrants before entry, according to police.

Police identified the man on Thursday as 22-year-old Amir Locke.

Attorneys for Locke’s family say he was in legal possession of his firearm.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Friday he had asked Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to join a review of the shooting.

Freeman’s office said Ellison’s office had agreed to the request.

“We will be working with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to ensure a thorough and complete evaluation,” Freeman said in a statement. “Thereafter we will decide together, based on the law and evidence, whether criminal charges should be brought.”

The incident has put the issue of no-knock warrants back in the spotlight.

Breonna Taylor was shot by cops in Kentucky as they performed a no-knock warrant entry.

While in May 2020 Minneapolis police officers were involved in the killing of George Floyd and later were fired and charged in his death.

Both cases sparked widespread protests and calls to reform the police.

NO-KNOCK WARRANTS

In the wake of the killing of George Floyd Minneapolis announced a new police on no-knock entries that summer, which was designed to limit the “likelihood of bad outcomes.”

Officials said officers would now be required to announce their presence and purpose before entering the premises, except for certain circumstances such as a hostage situation.

Other cities in the US moved to ban or rein in no-knock raids in the wake of Taylor’s death.

The search warrant that resulted in the police shooting of Locke was not originally supposed to be a “no-knock” warrant, law enforcement sources, according to a KARE 11 report.

St. Paul police originally did not request a no-knock warrant from a judge, but when Minneapolis police were asked to execute the warrant, MPD insisted the warrant be changed to authorize it to be executed without first knocking, the report states.

At a Thursday night press conference, interim Minneapolis Police Chief Amelia Huffman told reporters that “both a no-knock and a knock search warrant were obtained… so the SWAT team could assess the circumstances and make the best possible decision.”

Jeff Storms, one of the attorneys for the Locke family, told CNN: “To the best of my knowledge, he was not named in any of the search warrants.

‘HE WAS NOT EVEN A TARGET’

“He was not even a target.”

He added: “The City of Minneapolis told the public that it was limiting the use of no-knock warrants to ‘limit the likelihood of bad outcomes.’ Less than two years later, Amir Locke and his family needlessly suffered the worst possible outcome. Our City has to do better.”

Minneapolis said they were executing the warrant connected to a homicide investigation in nearby St Paul.

“At this point, it’s unclear if or how he (Locke) is connected to St. Paul’s investigation,” said Huffman during the press conference.

“These events unfold in seconds but the trauma is long-lasting. A young man lost his life, and his friends and family are in mourning,” added Huffman.

In the body cam footage, cops can be seen entering the apartment and officers quickly identify a man inside.

‘GET ON THE F*****G GROUND’

An officer can be heard screaming: “Hands, hands, hands,” while others can be heard yelling “Get on the f*****g ground.”

Cops can then be seen moving to the back of a couch where a man is shown wrapped in a blanket at 6.48am, according to the footage.

An officer then kicks the back of the couch, appearing to wake the man up, who opens his eyes to see cops surrounding him.

As the man starts to stand up, still covered in a blanket, he can be seen holding a gun.

THREE GUNSHOTS HEARD

Three gunshots can then be heard.

A screenshot from the body cam footage was supplied by the police department showing the weapon more clearly.

“The involved officer was just outside the frame in the direction the barrel is emerging from the blanket,” said Huffman.

A number of versions of the video have been released – one in real time which lasts 14 seconds and the other two edited by the city to be slowed down.

“As they got close, you can see, along with an individual emerging from under the blanket, the barrel of a gun, which comes out from the blanket,” said Huffman. “The officer had to make a split-second decision to assess the circumstances and to determine whether he felt like there was an articulable threat, that the threat was of imminent harm, great bodily harm or death, and that he needed to take action right then to protect himself and his partners.”

Authorities said in the initial release: “Officers encountered a male who was armed with a handgun pointed in the direction of officers.”

Minneapolis officials have identified Mark Hanneman as the officer who shot at and hit Locke.

First aid was immediately provided, according to the police department, as officers carried Locke down to the lobby to get treatment from paramedics.

Locke was then taken to Hennepin County Medical Center where he died, according to the cops.

A City of Minneapolis spokesperson said Hanneman had been placed on administrative leave, according to policy, pending the ongoing investigation.

“The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was notified immediately and is heading up the criminal investigation,” Huffman said Wednesday.

The homicide investigation which was the source of the warrant is still active, a spokesperson for the St Paul Police Department confirmed.

GUN RECOVERED FROM THE APARTMENT

A gun was recovered from the apartment, according to police.

Benjamin Crump, another of the Locke family attorneys, said in a statement, “Locke, who has several family members in law enforcement and no past criminal history, legally possessed a firearm at the time of his death.

“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,” Crump said.

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