Amir Locke’s Cousin Arrested in Probe That Led to Fatal Raid

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities arrested Amir Locke’s 17-year-old cousin in connection with the homicide investigation that led police to the Minneapolis apartment where a SWAT team officer fatally shot Locke while conducting a search warrant, police said Tuesday.

The teen was arrested Monday afternoon in the southeastern Minnesota city of Winona, the St. Paul Police Department said Tuesday on Twitter. He was booked into the juvenile detention center on suspicion of second-degree murder in the Jan. 10 killing of Otis Elder and was expected to be charged Tuesday.

The death of Locke, who was Black, angered his family and activists, who questioned the initial police account of the shooting. Hundreds of people turned out for a rally Saturday in downtown Minneapolis and students in area high schools were planning a walkout Tuesday. It has also prompted an immediate reexamination of no-knock arrest warrants, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey last week announcing a moratorium while the city brings in outside experts to study its policy, and some state lawmakers plan to push for a statewide ban.

St. Paul police had obtained search warrants as part of the investigation into Elder’s death, including a warrant for the downtown Minneapolis apartment where Locke had been staying. Minneapolis Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman has said her department had both warrants that would have required authorities to knock and not knock. Huffman has said that Locke was not named in the search warrants.

A Minneapolis SWAT team entered the unit without knocking on Feb. 2. Body camera video shows an officer using a key to unlock the door and enter, followed by at least four officers in uniform and protective vests, time-stamped at about 6:48 a.m. As they enter, they repeatedly shout, “Police, search warrant!” They also shout “Hands!” and “Get on the ground!” The video shows an officer kick a sectional sofa, and Locke is seen wrapped in a blanket, holding a pistol. Three shots are heard, and the video ends.

The city also included a still from the video showing Locke holding the gun, his trigger finger along the side of the barrel.

Minneapolis police have said that Locke was shot after he pointed his gun in the direction of officers.

Court documents filed Tuesday seeking to charge Locke’s cousin as an adult say police used surveillance videos to connect him to Elder’s shooting after a witness told police that a silver Mercedes-Benz had fled the scene. The documents said video showed the Mercedes parked near Elder’s vehicle, with two males getting out and approaching — one entering the passenger side and the other standing outside the driver’s door.

“This male stepped back and a loud gunshot was heard,” the documents say.

Surveillance video allowed police to track the Mercedes, which had been stolen, to the Bolero Flats apartment building where Locke eventually was shot. The 17-year-old was identified by witnesses as living with his mother in Apartment 1402, and also having a key to 701 — where his brother lives and where Locke was shot by police, according to the documents.

St. Paul police said the warrants that led to the search of the downtown Minneapolis apartment will likely be unsealed after charges are filed.

Elder, a 38-year-old father of two, was found shot and laying in the street on Jan. 10. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported at the time that paramedics gave him medical aid and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A motive for his killing was not immediately known.