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Activists gather outside interim Minneapolis chief's home to protest death of Amir Locke

Demonstrators traveled through Minneapolis in a car caravan Sunday evening to demand change after a police officer shot and killed Amir Locke last week in a downtown apartment. (Photo via CBC Minnesota)

Demonstrators have traveled through Minneapolis in a car caravan to demand change after the killing of a young African-American man during a botched raid on his apartment.

The caravan of about 50 cars drove through Minneapolis Sunday night to protest Amir Locke’s death last week as officers executed an unrelated no-knock search warrant.

The caravan, which was organized by several police accountability groups, including Communities United Against Police Brutality and the Racial Justice Network, met at 6 p.m. at the Target store at 2500 E. Lake Street.

An hour later, some in the caravan that gathered outside a Cedar-Isles-Dean location believed to be the home of interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman, chanted the names of Amir Locke and Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was killed by Kentucky police during a no-knock warrant in 2020.

The participants also demanded the resignation of Huffman. "We're asking for her job," said activist Toussaint Morrison over a microphone outside the home.

"It seems like the only time they pay attention is when it affects their jobs or their money. But we pull up when it affects our lives," Morrison added.

While he was speaking, flameless candles flickered in the snow, illuminating white crosses that bore Locke's name.

Locke was shot Wednesday by officers carrying out a search warrant on the apartment in the northern US city, where the police killing of George Floyd in 2020 sparked nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.

Video of the incident shows an officer using a key to unlock the door and then a SWAT team entering the apartment while shouting, "Police, search warrant!" They open fire as soon as Locke, sleeping on a couch, starts to rise from beneath a blanket, with a gun in his hand.

The total time between the officers' entrance and the shots fired was less than ten seconds. Locke died from his wounds in hospital. An incident report said he had two wounds in the chest and one in the right wrist.

The latest protest comes after hundreds of protesters held a demonstration in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday demanding justice over Locke’s death.


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