As the Minneapolis Police Department released bodycam video of the fatal shooting of Amir Locke in a downtown apartment, the family cries that their son and brother was unjustly shot and killed.
This is yet another very conspicuous and questionable killing of a Black man in this beleaguered metropolis that has already dealt with the murder of George Floyd and Dante Wright.
Officers were executing a no-knock warrant but Locke was not the target of the police raid. According to the following recorded video released by the department on Friday afternoon, Feb. 4, 2022, Locke was asleep and wrapped in a blanket on a couch when the officers stormed through the door. The officers kicked the bed to awaken Locke. Startled, Locke turned and held a gun in his hand. Officers immediately fired shots at Locke, killing him on the scene.
Exacerbating the family’s grief is the fact that his parents said Locke had dreams of becoming a musician. In fact, the 22-year-old had just filed the paperwork to start a music company, and the following week was going to move to Dallas to be near his mom and bring the dream come to fruition.
The family added that Locke was legally carrying the weapon as he had a permit and he had no criminal history.
“Amir was a bright light, and he deserves to be able to shine,” said his father, Andre Locke, who had a successful music career that inspired his now-dead son.
Family and friends described Locke as “a good kid.”
“You took a good kid who was trying to make the best out of his environment, and surpass it and succeed and he was doing it,” said Reginald McClure, a close cousin who ironically is a police officer in Texas and counseled Locke how to interact with White police. “He was figuring out life, but he was doing it safely.”
Flip the page to view the police shooting of Locke. (Warning: very graphic footage)
