Following the death of a 22-year-old Black man at the hands of a Minneapolis Police Department officer Wednesday, the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis union released a statement Saturday.
In the statement, authorities said that the victim, Amir Locke, was armed with a handgun when officer Mark Hanneman encountered him in a downtown Minneapolis apartment. Body cam footage of the deadly encounter has been released.
“The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will gather the needed facts for the investigation, and no conclusions should be made until the investigation is complete,” said the statement.
According to the federation of police, a SWAT team was called to the Bolero Flats apartment building to conduct a homicide-suspect search warrant, authorized by a judge, as part of an investigation of a violent crime. When Hanneman quickly encountered Locke, who allegedly had a handgun, the officer decided to use deadly force.
“Policing, particularly with a SWAT team, is a dangerous, high-stress profession, where officers are forced to make important split-second decisions in defense of themselves and fellow officers, especially when weapons are involved,” said the federation. “Weapons are drawn and used when officers are faced with significant safety threats.”
Police reported the shooting happened just before 7 a.m. and that the violent crime investigation was being conducted by the St. Paul police’s homicide unit. Locke’s relatives shared on social media that he did not live in the building where the shooting occurred.
Bodycam footage shows Locke on a couch underneath blankets.
As police enter the room, he begins to get up with a visible firearm in his hands. At this point, an officer is seen shooting him. According to documents released by the city of Minneapolis, Locke was shot by Hanneman in the chest twice and once in the wrist.
“No officer goes into a dangerous setting like this setting wanting to use a weapon,” said the federation statement. “The decision was not taken lightly and the decision to use deadly force will affect these officers, their families, and the family of Mr. Locke for the rest of their lives.”
Lock was pronounced dead at Hennepin Healthcare shortly after the incident. Protests over his killing shut down streets around the apartment building where he was shot Friday.
In 2020, the death of George Floyd, a Black man who killed by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, also sparked protests in the city and around the globe.
“We express our sympathies to the family for the loss of Amir Locke that resulted from this tragic train of events, as well as our support to the officers and their families,” said the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis.
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