MINNEAPOLIS. (Reuters). Hundreds protested the shooting death of Amir Locke in Minneapolis’ “no knock” raid earlier this week.

A peaceful, boisterous crowd rallied in Government Plaza, Minnesota’s biggest city, three days after Locke (22), was gunned down on his couch.

After Locke had been robbed of his gun, officers released surveillance footage that showed him bending under a blanket on his couch.

The officers claimed that they were carrying out a “noknock” search warrant. This allows police to enter private property, without alerting the occupants and announcing their presence.

It was related to the homicide probe that had been led by police officers from Saint Paul. Locke wasn’t named on the warrant and Minneapolis police acknowledge that it is not clear whether or not he was related to this investigation.

Amelia Huffman, the interim Minneapolis Police Chief, stated that the County Attorney’s Office was looking into the shooting. The video of the incident appears to have shown Locke’s gun pointed at officers as they fired.

Protesters at the demonstration claimed Locke was entitled to possess a firearm in his home. Locke never had the opportunity to arm himself during the chaos as the police entered his apartment and took him out without warning.

Minimum 500 people protested in temperatures below freezing on Saturday to demand an unconditional ban upon no-knock warrants. They also demanded the dismissal of and the arrest of those involved in the shooting.

The crowd was led by a series of speakers through chants calling for racial justice, denouncing the use of police violence against Blacks, organizers claimed, because they were disproportionately affected by discriminatory and heavy-handed law enforcement tactics.

Live video from Reuters of the protest showed that the crowd remained calm and the police stayed at the fringes.

Mayor Jacob Frey issued a response to Friday’s Locke shooting. He placed a moratorium upon “no-knock search warrants” and said he was doing so to “ensure both safety of the public as well officers, until a revised policy is developed.”

Locke was just one of many incidents that have put Minneapolis’ police under investigation.

Nearly two years ago George Floyd, a Black man of unarmed background, was shot to death by a police officer. The officer knelt upon Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as he tried to arrest him on suspicion that he had attempted passing a $20 counterfeit bill. The national outrage at Floyd’s murder sparked an uprising against police brutality in America and the bias of American criminal justice systems.

Locke was captured being arrested on video. Police opened Locke’s apartment by using a key, and then shouted at officers, “Police! Search warrant!

Locke is then kicked by an officer who kicks at Locke’s couch. As Locke turns his arm, he sees a gun in his right hand and his arm emerging from the blanket. Police fired three shots almost immediately.

Locke’s relatives lawyers claimed that he was innocent of any criminal offenses and had legally owned a gun at the time of his death.