Photos: Protesters march in downtown Minneapolis, calling for justice for Amir Locke
Hundreds of protesters gathered and marched in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon to call for justice for Amir Locke.
Locke, 22, was fatally shot by a Minneapolis police officer early Wednesday as officers carried out an early morning, no-knock search warrant in a downtown apartment.
People who gathered for Saturday's rally and march called for the officers involved to be fired and prosecuted. There also were calls for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to resign.
Members of Locke's family were on hand, including his father, Andre Locke, who spoke to the large crowd gathered outside the Hennepin County Government Center.
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Andre Locke told the crowd about how much he'll miss cracking jokes with his son, and calling him to talk about music. He said he “was extremely angry because I wasn't there to protect my son. I'm the protector of the family.”
"My heart is hurting — deep pain, deep sorrow. I was crying in my sleep. I've learned how to rebuke bad dreams spiritually ... but I can't get this one out. I can't get this one out of my being," he told the crowd gathered there to support him and his family.
"I feel vulnerable, I feel taken advantage of and disrespected," he said, in remarks livestreamed by KARE-TV.
Addressing the officers involved in the raid that ended with his son’s death, he said: "How dare you take my son from me and his mother. How dare you. What gives you the audacity to think that you are God? Who told you that, that you was the judge and the jury and executioner? Who told you that? What made you even believe that?"
Earlier Saturday, the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis union issued a statement in response to the fatal shooting, saying "no conclusions should be made" until an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is complete.
"No officer goes into a dangerous setting like this wanting to use a weapon," the statement read. "That decision was not taken lightly, and the impact of the use of deadly force will affect these officers, their families, and the family of Mr. Locke for the rest of their lives."
