Minneapolis' Black community reacts to shooting of Amir Locke
Amir Locke
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Black History Month celebrations kicked off at the Midtown Global Market on Saturday. But inside people had a lot on their minds, after the shooting of Amir Locke by Minneapolis Police on Wednesday morning.
Even after the release of body camera video showing the violent final moments of Locke’s life, many people are struggling to make sense of the latest fatal police shooting of a black man in Minnesota.
"It was just unbelievable to me, and now here we are again," Diane Anderson of Minneapolis told FOX 9.
"For him to die is pretty sad," Ronald Cayton of Minneapolis added.
The pain is sharp for people of color, who can see themselves in Amir Locke’s place.
"All people like myself sleep with their gun by their bed," Cayton said.
"I probably would’ve did the same thing he did," Anderson continued. She’s torn apart by the situation. "Why can’t we be licensed to have a gun and not get killed over it?" Anderson wondered. "They think we are so bad, and we want to hurt everybody; but we don’t, we [are] just like any other people."
Cayton called the incident a tragedy -- and he wants to see the end of no-knock warrants -- but he doesn’t fault any of the officers in this situation.
"I’m not angry or mad about the situation," Cayton said. "Those things are going to happen, I don’t know who to blame."
Cayton admits he doesn’t think there was any way Locke could have survived the situation because of the gun in his hand. But he says the police were just doing their job, and he would’ve done the same in their place.
"Yes, I would’ve taken him out," Cayton said. "[As] soon as he grabbed that gun he was a dead man."
On the other hand, Diane Anderson sees things differently. She believes police need more training and a different set of guidelines. And she’s also calling for an end to no-knock warrants.
"Don’t just pull the trigger because you see a gun, especially if it’s a person of color," Anderson said. "Stop and think before you shoot to kill."
On Friday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey ordered an immediate halt to the use of no-knock warrants in Minneapolis, with some exceptions.