(FeaturedNews.com) – Altercations between police and civilians nearly always draw some controversy, regardless of what led to the situation. But when someone dies due to a clash, viewpoints can become downright hostile. One recent incident that led to the death of a Minneapolis man prompted Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) to lash out at officials and officers by labeling them, murderers.
Omar criticized the city’s political leaders and police for contributing to the death of 22-year-old Amir Locke in a February 4 Twitter post.
Amir Locke had barely opened his eyes when he was executed by a Minneapolis Police officer. He was 22 years old. And now, because of the violent, unchecked, and unreformed behavior of our city’s police, his life has been taken.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 4, 2022
Locke died on February 2 when a SWAT team exercised a no-knock warrant at his home. Officer Mark Hanneman allegedly shot the young man shortly after entering the residence, who was lying on the couch with a legally-owned gun in his hands.
Omar accuses police of behaving recklessly and violently during the incident with Locke. She blames Mayor Jacob Frey and Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman for criminalizing the young man and justifying the shooting while absolving themselves of responsibility.
Minneapolis is again at the center of controversy after a young Black man, 22-year-old Amir Locke, was killed Wednesday by police as they executed what's called a "no-knock warrant." (From @NewsHour) https://t.co/jUlrvKDwYu
— PBS (@PBS) February 5, 2022
Huffman, for her part, stands in full support of the officer’s actions. She claims the team was forced to make an undesirable split-second decision to protect themselves.
Notably, police say they weren’t explicitly looking for Locke when they exercised the search warrant. His name wasn’t listed on the document, and he had no criminal record in the state.
It isn’t yet known if Locke had some kind of connection to the man they were looking for or the homicide investigation that initially led to the warrant.
Was this an execution, or did the officer act justifiably in self-defense?
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