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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,
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