No charges filed against Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Amir Locke during no-knock raid

Prosecutors announced Wednesday they will not file charges against the Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Amir Locke during a no-knock raid in February, but Locke's mother vowed the case "is not over."

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman said in a joint statement there was not enough evidence to file criminal charges in the case.

“Specifically, 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 the officer, Ellison and Freeman said in a joint statement.

Officer Mark Hanneman shot Locke three times less than 10 seconds after a SWAT team entered the apartment where Locke was sleeping early in the day. Officers from the Minneapolis Police Department were carrying out a search warrant as part of a St. Paul homicide investigation, but Locke was not listed on the warrant, interim Chief Amelia Huffman said after the shooting.

'DIDN'T EVEN GIVE HIM A CHANCE':Minneapolis police 'executed' Amir Locke during no-knock raid, family says

Karen Wells, Locke's mother, said her son's death was unfair and expressed frustration with Hanneman at a news conference in New York with attorney Ben Crump and civil rights leader Al Sharpton.

"You are guilty," she said. "I am not going to give up. Continue to have your restless nights, because I know you do."

Locke's family is "deeply disappointed by the decision," according to a statement released Wednesday by the family's legal team.

"The family and its legal team are firmly committed to their continued fight for justice in the civil court system, in fiercely advocating for the passage of local and national legislation, and taking every other step necessary to ensure accountability for all those responsible for needlessly cutting Amir’s life far too short," the statement said. 

Body camera footage released by Minneapolis police showed officers quietly opening the door to the apartment with a key, then repeatedly shouting commands as they entered the home. Locke, who was wrapped in a blanket on the couch, started to rise, holding a gun, which his family said he legally owned to protect himself, with his finger off the trigger. The officer fired three shots, striking Locke twice in the chest and once in the wrist, and the video ended.

Locke, 22, did not live in the apartment where he was killed. Police were searching for suspects connected to the shooting of Otis Elder in January in nearby St. Paul. Locke's cousin and another teenager have been charged in the homicide investigation that led to the fatal raid.

NO-KNOCK WARRANTS:A growing legacy of controversy, revised laws, tragic deaths

Minneapolis police faced criticism for initially describing Locke as a suspect. Wednesday, Ellison said Locke "was a victim" and "never should have been called a suspect."

Freeman said he and Ellison spoke with Locke's family before announcing the decision.

"They, like us, believe that if a no-knock warrant hadn't been used, Amir Locke might well be here today," Freeman said.

Locke's death sparked multiple days of protests in Minneapolis, which previously became the epicenter of a nationwide racial injustice protest movement following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

AMIR LOCKE:What the killing says about anti-Blackness and gun ownership in America

Civil rights groups, including the Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Locke's family and their attorneys demanded that Hanneman be fired in the wake of the shooting.  Wells called his death “an execution.”

Hanneman was placed on administrative leave after the shooting.

He was hired in 2015 and had three complaints against him that were closed with no discipline, according to records released by the city. A fourth complaint against him from 2018 is still open, according to a database created by activist group Communities United Against Police Brutality.

Locke's family and Crump called for a ban on no-knock warrants, renewing a nationwide debate that followed the police killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. The SWAT raid that killed Locke, who was Black, was not going to be carried out as a pre-dawn no-knock search warrant until the Minneapolis Police Department insisted, according to the St. Paul Police Department.

Ellison and Freeman said the case shows no-knock warrants are “highly risky” and can pose “significant dangers” to law enforcement and the public, including those who aren't committing a crime.

'HE LOVED ON EVERYONE':Hundreds mourn, remember Amir Locke at funeral

The Minneapolis Police Department will be prohibited from no-knock search warrants after Friday except under "exigent circumstances," Mayor Jacob Frey announced Tuesday. Officers will be required to knock and wait 20 to 30 seconds before entering a residence.

Ellison called for the department to enforce the new policy and "get serious about ending in-custody deaths." He urged Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

"The problems involving policing and communities of color in Minneapolis are long-standing, and everyone knows it – yet it feels like nothing is ever done about it," he said.

The department, which survived a push to replace it with a department of public safety last year, faces a Justice Department investigation of its policies and practices.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Contact Breaking News Reporter N'dea Yancey-Bragg at nyanceybra@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg