Minnesota prosecutors announced on Wednesday that they would not be filing criminal charges against the police officer who fatally shot Amir Locke, The New York Times reports.
Locke was killed on Feb. 2 while he was sleeping on the couch in his brother’s apartment, Kare 11 reports. Body camera footage shows SWAT officers entering the apartment without knocking or alerting Locke of their presence. Upon hearing SWAT entering the home, Locke reached for his handgun which he had a permit for. A SWAT officer fired multiple shots striking Locke and killing him.
The officer was identified as Mark Hanneman. He’s had several complaints filed against him over the last few years, but no disciplinary action was taken.
In a statement announcing the decision, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and Attorney General Keith Ellison said that while what happened to Locke was a tragedy and he may still be alive today if a no-knock warrant wasn’t used, prosecutors found “insufficient admissible evidence to file criminal charges in this case.”
“The State would be unable to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt any of the elements of Minnesota’s use-of-deadly-force statute that authorizes the use of force by Officer Hanneman,” the statement reads. “Nor would the State be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt a criminal charge against any other officer involved in the decision-making that led to the death of Amir Locke.”
According to Kare 11, Freeman and Ellison held a virtual press conference Wednesday morning to explain the decision to not file charges.
Freeman and Ellison also discussed the need for law enforcement to reevaluate non-knock warrants, their use and purpose, and suggested reforming officer training programs so what happened to Locke never happens again, Kare 11 reports.
“I will say that it calls for reform, and I think it’s appropriate for community to engage to have a policy that’s going to preserve life for everyone involved,” Ellison told reporters during the conference.
The statement also acknowledged who Locke was and what he cared about.
“Amir Locke’s life mattered,” the statement said. “He was a young man with plans to move to Dallas, where he would be closer to his mom and – he hoped – build a career as a hip-hop artist, following in the musical footsteps of his father.”
