MINNEAPOLIS — The decision not to charge the Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Amir Locke during a botched no-knock raid in February came as little surprise to legal observers, many of whom said the law leaves members of the public at risk.
"If they had taken this to trial, this probably would have been dismissed out of hand," said Mitchell Hamline School of Law professor T. Anansi Wilson. "The problem here is the law and that we trust police more than citizens."
When police feel in mortal danger or at risk of great bodily harm, they can use deadly force, Wilson said. A private citizen who feels similarly threatened must retreat and use deadly force only as a last resort.
