MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥� The Rev. Al Sharpton told the hundreds gathered Thursday for funeral that the 22-year-old Black man would still be alive if Minneapolis had banned no-knock warrants.
Sharpton was among several speakers who paid tribute to Locke and other Black people who have died in encounters with police. Along with song and prayer, the service at Shiloh Temple International Ministries included strong condemnations of racism in policing and emphatic demands for change.
"Amir was not guilty of anything but being young and Black in America," Sharpton said. He said if Minneapolis had banned no-knock warrants 鈥渨e wouldn鈥檛 be at a funeral this morning.鈥�
Sharpton also noted that February is Black History Month and he spoke about the history of slavery, detailing how slaves had their names taken away from them and were forced to take the names of their masters. He said Black people for too long have been seen as 鈥渘ameless suspects.鈥�
"Enough is enough. We are no longer going to be your nameless suspects,鈥� Sharpton said, as the crowed applauded.
Earlier in the service, funeral-goers were prompted to 鈥淪ay his name.鈥� They responded: 鈥淎mir Locke."
Locke鈥檚 aunt, Linda Tyler, denounced racism in policing and demanded that officers stop talking about the need for more training, and instead start using de-escalation techniques on white and Black people alike.
鈥淚f it is something you simply cannot do, we just ask that you resign today instead of resigning another brother or sister to her grave,鈥� she said. She also said she doesn鈥檛 want to hear about how policing is a difficult job.
鈥淚f you think being a police officer is a difficult profession, try to be a Black man,鈥� she said, as the crowd cheered.
A large portrait of Locke was displayed at the front of the church, with a white casket topped with roses and bouquets of flowers nearby. Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter were among those in attendance.
Locke's death has , with a push by his family and others to ban them in Minnesota and beyond.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who has come under scrutiny for the city鈥檚 use of such warrants, and Minneapolis Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman did not attend. Shiloh Temple Bishop Richard Howell Jr. told the Star Tribune before the service that Frey would not attend without an invitation from the family.
As the service began, hundreds of people sang the hymn 鈥淟ift Every Voice and Sing鈥� before Howell led the church in prayer. Members of the Grammy Award-winning group Sounds of Blackness also performed. They later sang their song, 鈥淏lack Lives Matter.鈥�
The service was held in the same church where Daunte Wright was remembered after he was killed by a suburban Minneapolis police officer in April. Sharpton, while presiding over Wright鈥檚 funeral,
Locke was shot by a SWAT team member shortly before 7 a.m. on Feb. 2 as in a St. Paul homicide case. at least four officers using a key to quietly enter the downtown apartment where he was staying, then shouting their presence. The video shows Locke, wrapped in a comforter, stirring and holding a handgun right before an officer shot him.
Locke wasn鈥檛 named in the warrant and did not live at the apartment. Family members called his killing an 鈥渆xecution,鈥� noting the video shows an officer kicking the sofa, and suggested Locke was startled awake and disoriented. They have also pushed back against police saying Locke was shot after he pointed his gun at officers.
Frey has imposed a moratorium on such warrants while the city reexamines its policy. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating Locke's shooting.
While the funeral was happening, the House Public Safety Committee heard .
The bill, authored by Rep. Athena Hollins of St. Paul, only allows such warrants in a handful of exigent circumstances, such as kidnapping and human trafficking. It goes further than measures passed last year, which made it more difficult for officers to seek no-knock warrants.
Last year's legislation requires that applications for no-knock warrants be approved by a chief law enforcement officer and another supervisor. It also requires officers to say whether the warrant can be executed in daytime hours and explain why officers can鈥檛 detain a suspect or search a residence by other means.
Several activists who testified in support of the new bill urged lawmakers to pass it, calling last year鈥檚 legislation a 鈥渨atered down鈥� version of what the state needs. When asked if they have spoken with Senate Republicans, they shook their heads 鈥渘o.鈥�
鈥淭hey patted themselves on the back and claimed that they had passed some police accountability bills,鈥� civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really laughable, it鈥檚 an insult to our intelligence and now another Black family has lost their son, their nephew, their cousin, our community member through the nonsensical use of a no-knock warrant.鈥�
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Find AP鈥檚 full coverage of the death of Amir Locke at:
Mohamed Ibrahim And Amy Forliti, The Associated Press
