Hundreds of people demonstrated in the streets of downtown Minneapolis on Saturday, demanding justice following the fatal gunshot wound to young black man Amir Locke during a special forces raid on his apartment this week.
The noisy but peaceful crowd, shouting the name of the deceased and the slogan “there is no peace without justice”, marched to Government Plaza in Minnesota’s largest city, three days after 22-year-old Locke was wounded by three bullets fired by a police officer on his couch.
The day after the young man’s death, police released a video from the camera worn by a member of the police special forces team. In it, Locke is depicted with a pistol in his hand, as he spins under a blanket, lying on his couch, disturbed by the voices of the police, moments before he was hit by the bullets of the leading SWAT member.
Police confirmed that her men were carrying out a search warrant from the so-called “no-knock”, the kind that allows law enforcement forces to break into private doors without first warning or announcing their presence.
The warrant was issued as part of an investigation into a case in the neighboring city of St. Paul, in which, however, Amir Locke was not involved. Minneapolis police have admitted that it was not clear how they were linked to the investigation.
On Thursday, the interim chief of Minneapolis police, Amilia Huffman, said during a press conference that the county prosecutor is studying the video of the attack.
Activists who took part in the demonstration yesterday stressed that Amir Lock had the right to bear arms, was inside his house and was never given the opportunity to drop his weapon during the chaotic moments when the police invaded the apartment without warning.
Some five hundred people gathered despite the fact that the temperatures in Minneapolis were below zero yesterday. They demanded that the “no-knock” warrants be banned, that the police officers who carried out the raid and the resignations of the mayor and the chief of police be dismissed and arrested.
One by one, the speakers denounced the violence against African-Americans amid slogans of racial justice who, according to organizers, are disproportionately victims of the harsh, often racist tactics of law enforcement.
The crowd, however, remained peaceful throughout the mobilization, while the police preferred to keep a low profile, watching the protesters from a distance.
On Friday, Mayor Jacob Frey reacted to the death of Amir Lock by ordering a moratorium on “no-knock” search warrants, stressing that he made this decision to “guarantee the safety of both citizens and police” until a new report is drawn up. policy”.
The death of the young man was added to a series of tragedies that have brought to the attention of the Minneapolis Police Department, the city where two years ago George Floyd died under the knee of veteran police officer Derek Sauvin.
The death of George Floyd, recorded in a video that has become hugely popular on social networking sites, sparked mass mobilizations and violent incidents in Minneapolis, across the US and internationally, and sparked a movement that denounces police brutality and harassment. in the American criminal justice system.
Lawyers representing the Locke family point out that the young man did not have a criminal record and was legally in possession of a gun when he was killed.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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