Officer Who Killed Amir Locke Removed from Use-of-Force Training Role

Sgt. Mark Hanneman, the Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Amir Locke during a 2022 no-knock raid, has been reassigned from his role as the department’s lead use-of-force trainer. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara announced Friday that Hanneman will join the department’s wellness unit, with his last day in the training division being Thursday. This decision follows intense community backlash, including from Locke’s family and racial justice advocates, who viewed Hanneman’s appointment as deeply insensitive and harmful to public trust.

“We have been working relentlessly to reform our policing practices while repairing community relationships,” said O’Hara. “We can’t afford to have anything distract from that progress.” He emphasized that the decision—made in collaboration with Mayor Jacob Frey and Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette—was about maintaining community trust. Amir Locke’s father, Andre Locke, criticized the city’s actions, stating, “Here we go again. Me here having to humanize my son… to express to you that he had a heart that was beating.”

Hanneman had been promoted to sergeant and assigned as a use-of-force trainer in September 2022, just seven months after killing Locke. The announcement of his reassignment came after public outcry from groups such as Communities United Against Police Brutality and Civil Rights Attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, who said Hanneman’s placement retraumatized a community still mourning George Floyd’s death. She called out Mayor Frey’s failure to follow through on promises to transform MPD and end no-knock warrants.

At Saturday’s DFL convention, Frey was booed when asked about Hanneman’s appointment. In defense, Frey said, “I trust the decisions that [Chief O’Hara] makes,” while other mayoral candidates strongly disagreed. State Sen. Omar Fateh asked the crowd, “Should any officer that has caused harm… be allowed to go on to train other officers?” The crowd responded with a resounding “no.”

In his new role, Hanneman will help build the MPD’s wellness unit by supporting officer health and peer support programs. The move comes amid concerns from an oversight monitor that the unit is severely understaffed. O’Hara said Hanneman’s acceptance of the new position reflects his commitment to cultural change within the department.

Link: MPRNEWS

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