The Minneapolis cop who fatally shot an unarmed Black man sleeping on his cousin’s couch during a no-knock police raid is now heading up the department’s use-of-force training program, leading to questions about how serious the city really is about reform after the police murder of George Floyd.
Amir Locke, who was not a suspect, was fatally shot by Sgt. Mark Hanneman within 9 seconds of a SWAT team entering into the apartment in February 2022, according to bodycam video, which also shows that, while Locke had a gun in his hand under his blanket, it was pointed at the ground and his finger was not on the trigger, according to KSTP-TV.
Police were executing a no-knock warrant as part of a homicide investigation in neighboring St. Paul. The warrant was tied to Locke’s cousin, who lived in the apartment. Locke himself wasn’t named in the warrant, wasn’t a suspect, and had no criminal record. He was staying there temporarily and reportedly working as a DoorDash driver.
The officers used a key to enter, did not announce themselves until they were already inside, and encountered Locke waking up from sleep on the couch, wrapped in a blanket with his legally owned handgun nearby…