Orange County Sheriff John Mina throws support behind Minneapolis police chief after her force executed 22-year-old Black man Amir Locke

Orange County Sheriff John Mina pulled a bit of the mask off this week, showing that police will always move to protect their fellow police over everyday citizens.

Mina sent a message of support to Minneapolis Police Chief Amelia Huffman on Twitter after a SWAT team under her jurisdiction killed 22-year-old Amir Locke during a no-knock search.

For the uninitiated, a no-knock warrant is exactly what it sounds like. Unlike a typical police search wherein police announce themselves outside, no-knock warrants allow police to initiate the search by breaking into a dwelling.

Locke was not a suspect in the case that led police officers to an apartment where he was staying. When police entered the home in the early morning hours to find Locke asleep on the living room couch, the 22-year-old reacted as if someone was breaking in (because, in truth, they were).

It appears that Locke reached for his gun in snippets of body camera footage that have been released. His family said he was legally permitted to carry a gun and carried it as part of his job as a delivery driver.

The killing has led to protests and a call to end or reform the practice of no-knock warrants. It appears that Mina looked at this rightful outrage and saw only a fellow cop being given a hard time.

“No doubt that the of job Police Chief can be a very thankless yet rewarding position,” he wrote. “Keep your head up, Chief.”

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This article appears in Feb 9-15, 2022.