Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey sparked outrage when they walked out of a press conference where they were being questioned about the fatal shooting of Amir Locke.
Huffman held a press conference where he announced the release of body camera footage from Wednesday's incident in which Locke, a 22-year-old black man, was shot by SWAT officers lying on a couch during an early morning raid.
The case has rekindled memories of the death of George Floyd by police in the same city in 2020, sparking nationwide protests and fueling a national debate about race relations in the United States.
Huffman recounts how Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers used a key to enter a home where Locke was lying on a couch during a murder investigation that included a video filmed by Fox 9 on Thursday. He was not suspicious during the press conference.
Locke's blanket was "more fully exposed", she said, and a "gun barrel" was seen from beneath it.
According to Huffman, "this was when the officer had to make a split-second decision" as to whether the threat was of "serious bodily harm" and whether he needed to "take action to protect himself and his allies".
After Huffman detailed the case, Frey said at the press conference that "we need transparency," which was the motivation for releasing the footage.
The pair were then grilled over why Locke was mentioned as a suspect in an earlier press release, which sparked a heated exchange from the audience.
Huffman and Frey turned and exited the door on the right after the question was repeated.
"How is a press conference running out of transparency?" Someone shouted from behind the camera. "You are the murderer," said someone, "and you want to give us an explanation."
Following the murder, Frey has issued an adjournment temporarily blocking all no-knock search warrants, sparking arguments between lawyers and activists.
Ben Crump, a civil rights lawyer, questions the use of a no-knock warrant in Locke's death, comparing the circumstances surrounding the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky in March 2020.
"The tragic murder of Rich Locke shows a pattern of no-knock warrants killing Black Americans," Crump said.
Meanwhile, Locke's mother, Karen Wells, told CNN that her son had legally obtained a gun and had a permit.
"He made sure he did his research and everything was legal," she told the network, "because they've been watching what's happening to our black men in this country, their whole lives."
The Minneapolis Police Department has been contacted by Newsweek for comment.