Thursday, February 10, 2022
PMT: The police killing of Amir Locke
Last week, just three blocks from my school in an apartment building where several of our students live, Amir Locke was shot by the police as they executed a warrant. He was roused from sleep, and holding a legally-possessed gun. The video is horrifying, but you can see it here.
Locke was killed in a dynamic entry raid where the police were searching for a homicide suspect (who wasn't there). As a fed. prosecutor I had a role in such raids (getting warrants). The Locke tragedy brings to the surface two truths about these raids that should inspire reform.
Even when they go as intended, such raids are violent. The first person through the door-- he one "on point"-- will often shoot the dog if there is one. People present will be put to the floor and handcuffed. Doors are broken down. Children are grabbed up and isolated or removed.
These raids are traumatizing for those inside, many of whom are innocent of any crime. If you are a kid, you might wake up in the arms of a cop, see your mom tackled, and your dog bleeding out. And that is when they have the right house and it goes right.
Second point: These are manufactured "split-second" moments of decision where people like Locke are shot. That means there is no time for reason, and if there is implicit bias (black men=more dangerous), that is one source of instinctive action. Racial disparities are inevitable.
These raids can be in service of legitimate goals: finding people or things necessary to maintaining public safety. BUT there are other ways of getting those people and things. All the trauma and tragedy these raids are in part a product of a lack of imagination or patience.
In other words, dynamic entry raids are how law enforcement is accustomed to getting people and things. To avoid these tragedies and the trauma created in even "good" raids, other techniques need to be developed. Stopping no-knock is not enough.
