Nation
'He loved on everyone': Hundreds mourn, remember Amir Locke at Thursday funeral
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Hundreds of people gathered Thursday to remember Amir Locke as the community grieves another young Black man killed by law enforcement in Minnesota.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and relatives of George Floyd and Botham Jean were among the large crowd that attended the public viewing Thursday morning in Minneapolis followed by a funeral service officiated by the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Locke was killed by Minneapolis police this month during a predawn, no-knock raid in a homicide investigation in which he was not named.
The 22-year-old’s ivory casket was adorned with dozens of red roses. Mourners joined a gospel choir in singing a number of songs, including “Soon and Very Soon” and “I’ll Fly Away.”
Locke’s mother, Karen Wells, reiterated her pledge to get justice for her son, who she described as a “very spiritual” person.
“He was always a jokester,” Wells said. “He was his brother’s keeper.”
Andre Locke, who loved ones called “Buddy,” asked the crowd to stand as he reflected on his experience being a father. Locke got emotional as he described the grief the family has endured since his son’s death.
“We can’t get that pain out…I haven’t been eating,” he said, noting that his son thought he needed to lose weight anyway. “How do you eat something when you can barely breathe?”
Locke’s aunt Linda Tyler criticized the Minneapolis Department for the tactics that led to Locke’s “execution” and called for the officers responsible to be fired and held accountable. Tyler remembered her nephew as someone who “gave people love.”
“He loved on everyone,” she said. “Amir was that man.”
Family attorney Ben Crump urged the city to ban no-knock warrants in a “call for justice.” Crump led the crowd in a call and response, describing a series of high profile cases where people were killed while doing every day tasks “while Black.”
“Amir Locke, Karen’s baby boy, Buddy’s apple of his eye … was sleeping on the couch while…” Crump said.
“Black,” the crowd replied.
Civil rights leader Sharpton delivered a wide-ranging eulogy that drew a line from the beginning of slavery in the United States to Locke’s killing.
“Amir was not guilty of anything but being young and Black in America,” Sharpton said. “Enough is enough.”
Bishop Richard Howell Jr. of Shiloh Temple International Ministries said there was a feeling of immense “anger and sadness” over Locke’s death. The community is still reeling from the death of Daunte Wright, another young Black man killed by police in nearby Brooklyn Center last year, as well as George Floyd and other Black residents, he said.
“It just makes us feel like, what did we learn? Have we learned anything about justice?” Howell told USA TODAY. “But I know as a pastor, as a bishop, one of our main responsibilities in any funeral service is to try to bring hope to a grieving community.”
2ND AMENDMENT AND RACIAL BIAS:What the killing of Amir Locke says about anti-Blackness and gun ownership in America
The funeral took place at Shiloh Temple International Ministries, the same church that hosted Wright’s funeral. The officer who killed Wright, Kim Potter, was convicted of manslaughter and could be sentenced to more than seven years in prison Friday.
Prosecutors are still trying to determine whether to press charges against the officer, Mark Hanneman, who fatally shot Locke.
Body camera footage shows Locke was killed less than 10 seconds after a SWAT team burst into a downtown Minneapolis apartment to serve a search warrant related to a homicide investigation in neighboring St. Paul.
Locke, who was holding a gun, did not live at the apartment and was not named in the search warrant. Police arrested his 17-year-old cousin in connection with the original homicide investigation.
Protests have continued in the Twin Citiesfor nearly two weeks over Locke’s killing. His family and their attorneys are calling for the officer who killed him to be fired and criminally charged and for the country to ban the dangerous, risky raids like the kind that led to Locke’s death.
Hanneman is on administrative leave while the Hennepin County attorney, the state’s Attorney General and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigate the shooting.
NO-KNOCK WARRANTS:A growing legacy of controversy, revised laws, tragic deaths
Locke’s family attorneys said in a statement Thursday that Hanneman had engaged in two previous illegal search and seizures and was a field training officer like Potter and former officer Derek Chauvin.
It “appears to be the latest example of how bad practices continue to be passed down to new officers in departments like Minneapolis, resulting in constitutional violations throughout the community and, at times, resulting in unnecessary and needless death,” the attorneys said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar said this week that she was planning to introduce legislation to restrict the use of no-knock warrants nationwide. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has imposed a moratorium on no-knock warrants while the city re-examines its policy, which was updated in 2020 following the killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, during a no-knock raid.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Contact Breaking News Reporter N’dea Yancey-Bragg at nyanceybra@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg
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Uber, Lyft made safety improvements, but many of those protect riders more than drivers. But drivers are also in danger.
Naomi Ogutu
Opinion contributor
I’ve been a rideshare driver in New York City for six years, and I take pride in my job and helping my passengers get where they need to go safely. But my safety is not a guarantee. I’m a mom of three. I need to know that I’ll make it home to my kids at the end of each night.
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Business
'A bad déjà vu': Under the crush of Western sanctions, Russians fear a return to dark economic days
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The lone No. 1 seed still alive heading into the Elite Eight, Kansas needs only a win against No. 10 Miami (Fla.) to book a spot in the Final Four.
No. 2 Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski can make one last Final Four and chase one final national championship by beating No. 4 Arkansas.
No. 2 Villanova can reach the national semifinals for the third time in six tournaments by winning what should be a defense-dominated brawl against No. 5 Houston.
And after beating No. 4 UCLA in the Sweet 16, No. 8 North Carolina is one win from reaching the Final Four under first-year coach Hubert Davis.
If everything goes according to plan, this year’s Final Four will consist of some of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
But the last week has taught us that this year’s NCAA Tournament will inevitably deviate from the script.
So look for the Jayhawks to be shocked in the Elite Eight, as the Bill Self collection of tournament collapses adds another painful chapter. Based on how things have gone through three rounds, Arkansas is a lock to send Krzyzewski into retirement one game shy of the Final Four. Villanova may be a two-time champion under Jay Wright, but the Wildcats will be smothered by Houston.
And, of course, the Tar Heels will lose to the team that embodies the wackiness and uncertainty of this entire tournament.
Saint Peter’s stands at the precipice of another outlandish achievement: being the first No. 15 seed — the first seed lower than No. 11, in fact — to reach the Final Four.
The Peacocks will be the underdog once again come Sunday, when they’ll match against a deeper and more talented opponent with decades of history to more than overshadow the Peacocks’ three-game run.
But beating another college basketball giant will simply take what we already know the Peacocks can bring to the table: Saint Peter’s reached the Elite Eight with energy, aggressiveness and composure, following the model set by unflappable coach Shaheen Holloway, and that same combination will give the Peacocks a chance at etching themselves into an even more permanent place in NCAA Tournament history.
“We’re happy but don’t mistake, we’re not satisfied, we’re not satisfied at all,” said guard Doug Edert. “The job is not finished. We feel like we belong and the more games we win the more confidence we build.”
That sounds like bad news for the Tar Heels, who might’ve righted the ship after a poor start to ACC play but could be the latest blueblood to the Peacocks’ formula.
At some point, the magic has to run out — for Saint Peter’s, which somehow keeps stacking upsets of higher-ranked opponents, and for the tournament at large, which has been wackier than ever but could suddenly snap back to the status quo.
But this March has not gone according to plan. Several big names lost early. Others failed to get out of the second round. The story of this year’s tournament has been upsets, shockers, letdowns, unpredictable officiating and unpredictability, period — why should the next two days be any different?
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg
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