Andre Locke: Real change for policing requires civilian leaders to step up
And that means voters must hold them accountable. Were it not for patterns of inertia, my son might not have been killed.
To the Black community in Minneapolis, the recent Department of Justice report finding systematic racism and violations of the Constitution in the Minneapolis Police Department and the city of Minneapolis came as no surprise.
Just over one year ago, I lost my son, Amir Locke, at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. Amir was 22, a talented musician with a winning smile. He was just about to leave Minneapolis to jump-start his music career. Instead, his life was cut short in the early morning hours of Feb. 2, 2022, when the Minneapolis Police Department executed a no-knock warrant — a risky practice banned in many states. The warrant did not even name and had nothing to do with him. Officers kicked the couch where Amir was sleeping at 6:48 a.m. Seconds later, an officer immediately shot him three times in the chest and wrist, killing him.
I truly believe that if not for the city's failure to hold the MPD accountable and ban no-knock warrants as promised, my son would still be here.
