MN-ACLU Files Data Request Demanding Information on Amir Locke Killing

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota just filed a request under the state Government Data Practices Act for data around the Minneapolis police killing of Amir Locke.

The letter sent to the Minneapolis City Clerk on Thursday asks for data and other communications surrounding the police killing of Locke.

Minneapolis police entered the apartment using a no-knock warrant and killed Locke – who was asleep on the couch when they arrived – within nine seconds.

“The ACLU of Minnesota is troubled by many circumstances surrounding the police killing of Amir Locke, including the short timeframe, the officers’ complete failure to deescalate the situation, and MPD’s insistence upon a no-knock warrant despite clear evidence about how dangerous such warrants can be, especially for people of color,” said ACLU-MN Legal Director Teresa Nelson.

“We question how someone who wasn’t a suspect or even a resident of the apartment – but simply sleeping on the couch – could wind up dead at police hands,” Nelson said. “So far, the city’s attempts to release information have done nothing but cause more questions. The city has fallen far short of the bar for transparency and accountability that residents expect from their government, especially when a life is taken by police. We are filing this Data Practices Act request to get answers, seek transparency, and prompt the city to change its disclosure practices going forward. The city must do better.”

Under the MGDPA request sent Thursday, the ACLU-MN is asking for:

• Information surrounding city press releases about the police killing of Amir Locke.
• Copies of all bodycam footage from every officer present when Officer Mark Hanneman killed Locke. The city has released footage from only one bodycam.
• Communications about the city’s 2021 adoption of a policy restricting no-knock warrants and the recent moratorium on these warrants, including training materials and exceptions to the moratorium.
• Data on related warrant applications, including communications between MPD and Saint Paul Police, and identification of who reviewed and approved the applications.
• Data to identify all no-knock warrant requests denied approval by MPD.
• Information to explain MPD policies about public statements about use of deadly force.
• Data on MPD’s carrying out of statutory limits on no-knock warrants passed by the state Legislature last year.
• The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes, protects, and extends the civil liberties and civil rights of all Minnesotans through litigation, lobbying, and community engagement.

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