Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has issued a moratorium briefly halting all no-knock search warrants following the officer-involved capturing demise of 22-year-old Amir Locke, who police later mentioned was not the suspect they'd been looking for in relation to a St. Paul murder
Locke was shot and killed Wednesday morning after a SWAT workforce from the Minneapolis Police Division (MPD) raided the house by which he was staying. Physique-camera footage launched by MPD on Thursday reveals officers getting into the house with out saying their presence, which they have been licensed to do underneath the phrases of the no-knock warrant. Locke, who was asleep on his pal's sofa on the time of the warrant, was shot and killed inside seconds after an MPD officer noticed him holding a gun.
The MPD said that the officers "loudly and repeatedly introduced their presence" earlier than getting into the house, however the digital camera footage confirmed that officers didn't begin to announce their presence till after they have been already contained in the unit.
MPD interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman later mentioned in a press convention that officers "used a key to open the door and introduced 'police, search warrant'" earlier than getting into the house. The body-camera footage seems to point out the door opening and the announcement being made virtually concurrently.
The mayor's determination comes following a spate of anger over Locke's demise. The lethal capturing of Locke, a Black man, continued to intensify racial tensions in a metropolis that witnessed the demise of George Floyd in 2020, reigniting the "Black Lives Matter" motion throughout the US.
Outstanding civil rights lawyer Ben Crump questioned using the no-knock warrant in Locke's demise. He famous that a comparable no-knock warrant had led to the demise of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, in March 2020. Debate continues over whether or not officers had introduced their presence earlier than Taylor's capturing.
"Just like the case of Breonna Taylor, the tragic killing of Amir Locke reveals a sample of no-knock warrants having lethal penalties for Black Individuals," Crump mentioned in an announcement. "That is one more instance of why we have to put an finish to those sorts of search warrants in order that someday, Black Individuals will have the ability to sleep safely of their beds at night time."
Following public outcry over the capturing, Frey launched a assertion Friday saying a moratorium on no-knock warrants. This short-term ban on these warrants will come whereas MPD officers "work with nationwide specialists ... to assessment and recommend revisions to the division's coverage.
"It doesn't matter what data involves mild, it will not change the truth that Amir Locke's life was reduce brief," Frey mentioned. "To make sure security of each the general public and officers till a brand new coverage is crafted, I am issuing a moratorium on each the request and execution of such warrants in Minneapolis."
The moratorium signifies that, for the foreseeable future, MPD officers should use a 'knock-and-announce" strategy when executing search warrants, the mayor's workplace mentioned. This consists of "knocking, saying, ready an affordable period of time and solely then getting into."
A no-knock warrant is just allowed to be carried out underneath the moratorium if there may be an "imminent risk of hurt to a person or the general public." Past this, that warrant have to be personally accepted by the chief of police.
Dr. Pete Kraska of Jap Kentucky College, one of many specialists that the MPD will likely be working with, said that he was "able to put my educational analysis and experience to work for the folks of Minneapolis to make sure the MPD is just not solely in step with trade best-practices, however pushing to be on the forefront of this vital space of police reform."
Anger and requires justice rang out throughout the town within the aftermath of Locke's demise.
One outspoken critic was Nekima Levy Armstrong, the previous president of the Minneapolis NAACP. Levy Armstrong interrupted Huffman's press convention to query why a no-knock warrant was essential to enter the house by which Locke was sleeping.
"You all go, do one thing for St. Paul Police, and now you are attempting to cover behind that call. It is not acceptable," Levy Armstrong mentioned.
Newsweek has reached out to the Minneapolis NAACP for remark.
Post a Comment