Al Sharpton on Amir Locke: Only guilty of ‘being young and Black in America’

Rev. Al Sharpton on Thursday spoke to thousands at the funeral of 22-year-old Amir Locke, who was fatally shot by Minneapolis police during a no-knock warrant search. 

“Amir was not guilty of anything but being young and Black in America,” Sharpton said, according to The Associated Press.

Locke was shot by a member of the SWAT team that carried out a no-knock search warrant at the beginning of this month.

Sharpton on Thursday spoke out against the no-knock searches in Minneapolis, arguing that had they been banned “we wouldn’t be at a funeral this morning,” the news outlet noted.

In his remarks, Sharpton also spoke on Black History Month and connected the history of slaves being forced to take on names their masters gave them to Black people today being seen as “nameless suspects,” according to AP.

“Enough is enough. We are no longer going to be your nameless suspects,” Sharpton reportedly said.

also referenced Black History Month and talked about 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 “nameless suspects.”

Linda Tyler, Locke’s aunt also spoke during the funeral and called for more training and de-escalation techniques to be used in policing.

“If it is something you simply cannot do, we just ask that you resign today instead of resigning another brother or sister to her grave,” she said, adding that she did not want to hear that being a police officer is difficult, according to AP

“If you think being a police officer is a difficult profession, try to be a Black man,” she reportedly said.