Minneapolis officer who fatally shot Amir Locke won't be charged

The Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an armed 22-year-old Amir Locke during a SWAT raid in early February will not be charged with a crime, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday.

Calling Locke a "victim" and urging policymakers to re-examine the police tactic of no-knock warrants, Ellison said the case was reviewed by his own office, Freeman's and an independent investigator and all determined there is not enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that officer Mark Hanneman violated Minnesota's use-of-force statute.

"The tragic death of this young man, who was not named in the search warrant and had no criminal record, should never have happened," read the statement from civil rights attorneys Ben Crump, Jeff Storms and Antonio Romanucci. "This is only the latest reminder that we must work even harder to protect and obtain equal justice and accountability for our communities of color. No family should ever suffer like Amir's again."

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