Barely In Job, New Chief Feels Heat From Amir Locke Shooting

A close-up of a gun, police badge, and handcuffs on a police officer’s hip

The fatal shooting of a 22-year-old Black man by police in Minneapolis is turning up the heat on the city’s police chief.

Amelia Huffman was elevated to the top job on an interim basis just weeks before Amir Locke was slain by officers serving a search warrant. Longstanding community mistrust of the department has gained steam due to activists’ anger at how the warrant was carried out and some of the department’s statements since.

Huffman, who joined the department in 1994, built a wide-ranging resume before taking over in January to replace the retiring Medaria Arradondo.