Police Officer Won’t Be Charged in Shooting of Amir Locke During No-Knock Raid

The Wall Street Journal ^ | 06 April 2022 | Jennifer Calfas

[Theoria]

The Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Amir Locke, a 22 year-old Black man, while executing a no-knock warrant in February won’t face criminal charges, prosecutors said.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman said in a joint statement Wednesday there was insufficient admissible evidence to file charges against Officer Mark Hanneman. 

“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 said. “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.”

Mr. Locke was killed on the morning of Feb. 2 when police officers were executing a no-knock warrant in connection to a murder investigation by the St. Paul, Minn., Police Department. 

Mr. Locke wasn’t named in the search warrant and wasn’t a suspect in the investigation, prosecutors said. He was asleep on a couch as police entered the apartment just before 7 a.m. After police kicked the couch, Mr. Locke appeared to stir under a comforter and emerged holding a handgun, according to body camera footage released by police. The gun appeared to be held parallel to the ground, then dropped to a 45-degree angle, then held in the direction of Mr. Hanneman, according to prosecutors. Officer Hanneman fired three shots. 

The officer said he feared for his life and the lives of his teammates, according to the joint report from the Hennepin County attorney’s office and Minnesota attorney general’s office.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

There will be a big payday after the coming civil suit.