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No charges to be filed in fatal police shooting of Amir Locke

APTOPIX Police Shooting Minneapolis
Posted

No charges will be filed in the death of Amir Locke. He died in a police shooting during a no-knock warrant raid in Minneapolis in February.

Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called Locke's death a "tragedy" and added that he was not a suspect in the underlying criminal investigation that led to the no-knock warrant.

However, they said there is "insufficient admissible evidence to file criminal charges in this case."

Under Minnesota law, the attorneys say law enforcement was justified in using deadly force after encountering Locke under a blanket with a firearm pointed in the direction of at least one officer.

The officer "perceived that Mr. Locke’s movements and production of a firearm presented a threat of death or great bodily harm that was reasonably likely to occur and to which the officers had to respond without delay," the attorneys said.

No-knock warrants have come under increased scrutiny in recent years amid calls for police reform. Following Locke's death, Minneapolis decided to ban no-knock warrants. The new policy will take effect on April 8, according to CNN.