Family members of Amir Locke, the 22-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by Minneapolis police last week, have ties to the Chicago area.
Locke's father and grandfather grew up in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, according to Linda and Andrew Tyler of Lombard.
Locke was their nephew.
"Very lovable, caring. [Amir] cared about other people," said Linda Tyler.
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The Lombard couple told NBC 5 that Locke had plans to move to Dallas, Texas, to further his dream of becoming a music engineer.
"He had just gotten his LLC to open up his company. He was going to be involved in music," said Andrew Tyler.
Last Wednesday, Locke was killed when Minneapolis police served a "no knock" warrant at the apartment he was staying at.
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Police body camera video was released to public, showing Locke on a couch with a blanket over this body.
Locke also had his handgun next to him. His family said he had a license to carry his firearm.
The body camera video shows police storm into the apartment and kick the couch Locke was resting on.
When Locke removes the blanket from his body, it appears the gun is in his hand.
Before Locke has time to respond to any demands by police, an officer opens fire several times.
The Minneapolis Police Department later revealed to NBC News Locke was never listed on the warrant.
According to a statement from the Locke family's attorney, police later arrested his cousin who lives in that apartment.
"We were all together, the entire family. We were devastated," said Andrew Tyler. "Screams rang out."
Linda Tyler got emotional during an interview with NBC 5’s Chris Hush.
"When we saw the video, the reason why there was so much eruption in the room is because we realized he didn’t have a chance," said Linda Tyler. "A person who is a law-abiding citizen who has a gun permit and carries their gun, when you go to bed, you put it on the side of you … and when you’re crashing at someone's house that's not his home, he had it right next to him."
During a press conference last week, the interim police chief told the media the officer who shot the gun had to make a "split-second decision."
The fatal shooting comes nearly two years after Breonna Taylor was killed by police in Kentucky on a “no knock” warrant.
Last year, Chicago started looking at its own “no knock” warrant policies after the botched raid of Anjanette Young garnered national outrage.
On top of fighting for justice, the family of Amir Locke wants politicians to push for a universal "no knock" warrant ban to prevent this from happening again.
"It starts with judges issuing these things all the way down to the local law enforcement," said Andrew Tyler.
Even White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki mentioned President Biden’s support for the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act that would "further restrict the new use of 'no-knock' warrants across the country" by using federal funding incentives for local police departments.
"We’re that family. We would say he’s wrong if he did some things, but in this case, we can’t say that," said Linda Tyler.
Ben Crump is representing Locke’s family. A press conference with the family has been scheduled in Minneapolis for Thursday.
