Amir Locke Killing: BCA Sends Final Case Report To Hennepin County Attorney For Possible Charges

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says it has completed its investigation of the killing of Amir Locke by Minneapolis police.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office is now reviewing the case to determine if charges will be filed in connection with the deadly encounter inside a downtown Minneapolis apartment building on Feb. 2.

Police say SWAT team members executed a "no-knock warrant" on behalf of St. Paul police at an apartment inside Bolero Flats in connection with the fatal shooting of Otis Elder in January.

Body camera footage shows an officer use a key to unlock the front door of an apartment rented by the brother of murder suspect Mekhi Camden Speed, 17, who is Locke's cousin. Officers began yelling "police" and "search warrant" as they passed through the door. Seconds later they encountered Locke, who had been sleeping under a blanket on a couch. Locke sat up and grabbed a handgun before Officer Mark Hanneman shot him three times. About 10 seconds passed from the moment officers entered, and Locke is shot.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was criticized in the aftermath of Locke's death over misleading claims he made during his re-election campaign months earlier that he banned no-knock warrants, because there was actually an exemption for warrant executions where there's an "imminent threat of harm."

"Language became more casual, including my own, which did not reflect the necessary precision or nuance. And I own that," Frey said.

The mayor announced in early March that he's proposing a policy to ban all no-knock and no-announcement warrants.

Speed was charged in Elder's murder in mid-December.