(Minneapolis, MN) February 3rd, 2022- In the early morning of February 2nd, Minneapolis police killed 22-year-old Amir Locke in his apartment, shooting him in the span of nine seconds after entering without clearly announcing themselves.
The horrifying and traumatizing body camera footage released clearly shows Amir being awakened by fear and gunshots before he even had a chance to lift the blanket he was sleeping under. Surrounded by armed officers aiming their weapons at him, while shouting and disorienting him, Amir Locke was fatally shot by Officer Mark Hanneman. This execution of a young Black man at the hands of police is both tragic and unacceptable.
Amir Locke’s life mattered. The horror in which his life was stolen must move us to demand real change and real answers. This death of a young Black male is not the first death that Minneapolis has witnessed at the hands of their police department. From Jamar Clark to George Floyd to the countless Black lives that have been taken, the Minneapolis Police Department must question its policies, procedures and practices that are resulting in the repeated murders of Black Americans. The police department and the city of Minneapolis have failed the very communities that were promised change.
We strongly condemn Mayor Jacob Frey and Interim Chief Amelia Huffman for slandering Amir Locke and naming him as a suspect and that he was listed on the warrant when that was not the case. It was also stated that the murder victim threatened the police when the body camera footage showed that was also not the case. We are demanding that the misinformation and lies to the media regarding this shooting be investigated for ethics violation.
We are extremely disappointed at Mayor Frey misleading the public by claiming that no knock warrants were banned when this case proves otherwise. We join communities on the ground in demanding the no-knock warrant policy be banned statewide.
Black parents in Minneapolis and across the nation should not have to fear for their sons and daughters lives, nor for their own. Yet, only two years after George Floyd’s murder, and the murder of Breonna Taylor and countless others, this same trauma is relived again and again. Our hearts grieve for the family and friends of Amir Locke and for our Black community whose lives continue to be ravaged by police brutality.
The Muslim American Society is a dynamic charitable, religious, social, cultural, advocacy and educational organization. Its mission is to move people and nurture lifelong, God-centered agents of change. Our vision is a vibrant American Muslim community striving for a just and virtuous society.