The following is a collection of Minneapolis City Council members' statements regarding the killing of Amir Locke by Minneapolis Police Officer Mark Hanneman.

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Ward 7 Council Member Lisa Goodman sent out this statement in her Feb. 4 newsletter

Happy Friday to all. As we wrap up another busy week, I want to take a moment to comment on the officer involved shooting that occurred in downtown on Wednesday. First of all, I wanted to thank all of my constituents who reached out to me on this issue. I am distressed over this shooting and the loss of Amir Locke's life. My thoughts are with the family, friends and community of Amir Locke. I have requested full transparency of the Minneapolis Police Department in this matter, and request a full and thorough investigation into this incident from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the Minnesota Attorney General, and the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.

I heard the calls from my constituents about the release of the body camera footage with regards to this incident, and fully supported the release once our state law obligations had been met under Chapter 13 Section 825 of the Minnesota State Code. At this time, the family has viewed the footage, and all officers involved had their statements taken within the 48 hour window required.

Last year the City of Minneapolis and the state legislature both placed restrictions on the use of no-knock warrants. With that mind I can't help but ask why a no-knock warrant was used in this situation. There needs to be some very strong conversations both at the city level and at the state level whether this process should be outright banned.

I share the concerns from the community for both safety and accountability. We must continue to be willing to take the necessary steps to implement substantial change to our current policies and practices in policing and in how we address public safety as a whole for our community to ensure that no one in Minneapolis fears for their safety. Be safe and be well, Lisa

Thank you to Twitter user @regretmotron for posting a transcript of the newsletter screenshot.

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Ward 13 Council Member Linea Palmisano posted a statement late afternoon on Feb. 4

Dear Neighbor, As many of you know, Wednesday morning the Minneapolis Police Department carried out a search warrant that resulted in officers shooting and killing Amir Locke. Any loss of life is tragic and my heart goes out to his family and loved ones as they process and mourn his death.

The details of this officer involved shooting have come out in pieces, but as of last night the body worn camera footage of one of the officers involved has also been released. That is accompanied by the incident detail report, Minneapolis Fire Department report, City news releases and other details. The video itself is graphic in nature so I will not be sharing a direct link to it, but you can find it and all these other reports on the City’s Critical Incidents page.

Like many of you, I too wanted transparency in release of the footage and worked diligently with the Mayor’s Office and City staff to get that footage released as expeditiously as possible. In these types of critical incidents there are a number of hurdles that must be overcome before we can legally and responsibly release that data. Those include:

  • State law is very strict and does not allow for the immediate release of the footage. This is intended to protect the investigative process while evidence is being collected.  We must comply with that law or be able to meet some very specific exceptions to it.
  • An officer must be interviewed before footage is released in order to maintain the integrity of the investigation. Our officers are not allowed to review the footage prior to giving their investigatory statements.  Per labor contract, that interview must happen within 2 days of the incident. There are a number of factors that could delay that interview and push it towards the longer end of the 2-day requirement, such as multiple officers being involved, evidence processing and more.  In this case, the interviews happened within one day.
  • It is the responsibility of the investigating party to release the body worn camera footage back to the involved agency. In this case the investigating party is the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). Waiting on this state agency to release our own data back to us is a significant contributor to any delay.
  • Basic humanity calls for consideration of the victim’s family and close loved ones. Releasing this kind of video is incredibly traumatic for so many people, and the family deserves a chance to see the footage, if they so choose, before it’s release. Historically, this is something the City has made an effort to do with the support of our Chaplain services, the Chief of Police and the Mayor’s offices.

Failing to meet these criteria could negatively impact the investigation, violate state law and put the family in a position that could cause even greater trauma. That is why it is vital that we carefully follow City protocols.

I was very clear with the Mayor that as soon as these criteria were met, that video needed to be released. Making this kind of data public is necessary in order to be a transparent government.

I am pleased to see that Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office has agreed to oversee the investigation into this killing, along with the County Attorney and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

As your local representative I have been working to get back to everyone who has reached out to me individually and I appreciate everyone’s patience as I do. As the Council Vice President I am working hard to make sure that our new Council Members are also getting the information that they need to answer their constituent questions and help guide them right now. I, along with Council President Jenkins, have been coordinating staff and making requests of the Mayor’s office to address all Council Member questions. The best we can do in these worst-case scenarios is to gather all the information available to us and tell you all what we know.

At the state level, I join my colleagues in demanding reforms to our data practices laws, no-knock warrants, and body camera laws.  Some of these things are a continuation of my advocacy efforts of the past.

At the city level, I am in conversation with my fellow Council Members on how we can make meaningful improvements to our public safety records keeping, police oversight authority and independent monitoring of police practices. We are laying out an agenda for the work we need to make our city more transparent and accountable.

This is yet another traumatic event for our city. Especially for our Black and BIPOC neighbors. The City’s Office of Violence Prevention along with their community partner, Restoration Inc. will be holding space for healing circles for the community members who live near and around the site of this tragedy. The City and it’s partners also have culturally specific mental health services available for community members across the city, and I encourage folks to take advantage of them as we grieve in this moment. Yours in service, Linea

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Ward 10 Council Member Aisha Chughtai posted this statement to social media on the evening of Feb. 3

The murder of yet another young Black man, Amir Locke, at the hands of Minneapolis Police Department yesterday is a reminder that nothing has changed. This was a horrific and preventable tragedy. I am sending peace and care to Amir’s loved ones.

I spent the last two days communicating with the Mayor’s office and City leadership telling them that the City needs to release all the information the City has including the body camera footage and that the City must act with complete transparency.

Thanks to the pressure community members put on City officials, body camera footage was released. The City also finally released documents confirming Amir’s name and information detailing that Officer Hanneman has had multiple complaints against him.

It shouldn't have taken community members and elected leaders demanding this for the City to share this little information. There are still many unanswered questions and a lot more information that the City owes residents.

I join community members in demanding the City make the search warrant public and that the Hennepin County Attorney charge those responsible with killing Amir Locke. I am also urging the BCA, MPD, and SPPD communicate details about the events that led to Amir Locke’s murder.

My team and I are working diligently to find the answers our community desperately needs. Here are outstanding questions that I’m still seeking answers to:

1. Was Amir’s name on the warrant? Editor’s update: Amir Locke’s name was not on the warrant.

2. Why did MPD accept the request to carry out the warrant?

3. Who asked for a no-knock warrant and who asked for it to be executed outside of standard hours?  Editor’s update: MPD “insisted” on a no-knock warrant.

4. Have all officers present given their official statements? When will those be public?

5. Who authorized the use of SWAT?

6. What was the role of Hennepin EMS that morning? Why were they called on scene before anyone was hurt? Why were there 3 minutes before Amir received medical care? Why didn’t EMS come to Amir? Why was he carried down to them?

7. Reports show that MPD went to two different apartments before entering the one Amir was in. A bullet also went through the ceiling. Why did they endanger everyone in the apartment building?

8. Is the City providing the requested on-site trauma support to the people living at Bolero Flats and the community?



Ward 11 Council Member Emily Koski published this statement on the evening of Feb. 3

Hello Residents of the Ward 11 Community,

I want to thank you for your patience. I chose to wait to make a statement regarding the shooting by an Officer of Amir Locke (Name as released in the General Offense Public Information Report) that occurred on February 2nd, 2022 until I was able to gather all the information, so that I could share said information with you in the interest of transparency. This information includes the Body Camera Footage which I have linked below.

I want to start by sharing that any loss of life is tragic, and that my thoughts are with the family, friends, and community of the Amir Locke. I also want to acknowledge how this trauma is impacting our neighbors who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) in Ward 11 and throughout our City.

The City of Minneapolis’s Office of Violence Prevention along with their community partner, Restoration Inc. will be holding space for community healing circles in the wake of the shooting by an Officer for the Bolero Flats community. The City of Minneapolis has mental health resources which I encourage the community to take advantage of.

I echo the community's call for transparency. For this reason, I will detail all the information I know below regarding the shooting by an Officer, this information is made available through the Critical Incident page on the City’s website.

Click here to view the Critical Incident page for the February 2nd, 2022 Shooting by an Officer. The Critical Incident Page includes the following information: Citations, 22-022798 General Offense Public Information Report, 22-022798 Incident Detail Report, 22-0004855 Fire Incident Detail Report, 22-0004855 Fire Incident Report, MPD News Release, MPD News Release Photo 1, and MPD News Release Photo 2., Officer Involved in Incident, Public Personnel File for Officer, Employee Complaint Summary for Officer, and an explanatory note about Body Camera, Street Camera, and Squad Camera Footage.

The Body Camera Footage of the shooting by an Officer on February 2nd, 2022 has been released. I will link the page on which the Body Camera Footage can be found here. The Body Camera Footage is traumatic, and I encourage all individuals to prepare themselves before viewing the footage if they so choose. Again, the City of Minneapolis has mental health resources which I encourage the community to take advantage of.

The City of Minneapolis had to follow the following standards in relation to Body Camera Footage:

  • The City of Minneapolis is legally bound to follow the Minnesota State Statues regarding Body Camera Footage.
  • Per Federation Contract, an Officer must be interviewed before the footage is released to maintain the integrity of the investigation. That interview must happen within 2 days of the incident. The Officer is not allowed to see the footage until after the interview.
  • As part of MPD policy, it is the responsibility of the investigating party to release the body worn camera footage back to the involved agency. In this case, the investigating party is the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). Their role is to act as an independent reviewer of the footage before MPD can provide their own review. Subverting that process could significantly impact the integrity of the investigation.
  • Lastly, consideration must be given to the Amir Locke’s family. Body Camera Footage of this nature is incredibly traumatic to view, and the family of Amir Locke deserves the opportunity to view the footage privately before it is released to the public.

I absolutely supported and encouraged the public release of the body camera footage following the standards outlined above. I always support the public release of the body camera footage, as I believe in the importance of transparency, but I also believe in the importance of not compromising the investigation thus compromising our means of accountability, and most importantly – respecting the family of the Amir Locke.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out my office – I have included our contact information below.

Sincerely, Council Member Emily Koski

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City Council President and Ward 8 Council Member Andrea Jenkins posted this statement to her personal Facebook page on the evening of Feb. 4

Sending love to the community today as we grapple with the horrendous, unacceptable violence this week. To the families of the young people in Richfield at the South Education Center and the family and friends of Amir Locke, I am praying for you and with you. We must stop the community violence and the state sanctioned violence at the hands of the police. We must demand full accountability for all those involved.

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