Sharpton: Locke was guilty of being ‘Black in America’

MINNEAPOLIS – The Rev. Al Sharpton has told hundreds gathered for the funeral for Amir Locke that the 22-year-old man was not guilty of anything except being young and Black in America.

Locke was killed Feb. 2 by Minneapolis police as they executed a no-knock search warrant.

Police video shows an officer kick a sectional sofa, and Locke begins to emerge from under a blanket, holding a pistol. Three shots are heard, and the video ends.

Sharpton said at Locke’s funeral service Thursday that if Minneapolis had passed a ban on no-knock warrants “we wouldn’t be at a funeral this morning.”

Other speakers at Locke’s funeral at Shiloh Temple International Ministries condemned police for the events that led to Locke’s killing, as they remembered Locke and other Black people who have died in encounters with police.