By Riley Bruce
“Amir Locke Ought to Be Alive,” learn a banner held by neighborhood members throughout a press convention at Minneapolis Metropolis Corridor on July 22. The gathering, organized by Communities United In opposition to Police Brutality (CUAPB), condemned the Minneapolis Police Division’s resolution to nominate Sgt. Mark Hanneman as its new use-of-force coaching officer.
Credit score: Riley Bruce/MSR
On Feb. 2, 2022, Hanneman fatally shot 22-year-old Locke throughout a pre-dawn no-knock raid at Bolero Flats in downtown Minneapolis. Locke, who was not named within the warrant, was woke up on a sofa by officers coming into with weapons drawn. He was shot inside seconds of the raid’s begin.
Though Hanneman was not criminally charged, Minnesota Legal professional Common Keith Ellison and then-Hennepin County Legal professional Mike Freeman declined to prosecute, and civil litigation by Locke’s household stays pending.
“If Officer Mark Hanneman understood correctly use drive in a scenario like Amir Locke’s, Amir would nonetheless be alive as we speak,” mentioned lawyer and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong through the press convention.
A troubling sample
Critics argue Hanneman’s appointment represents a bigger sample of officers with violent information being elevated to coaching roles inside regulation enforcement. “There’s a disturbing historical past of awarding officers who kill our individuals,” mentioned Toshira Garraway, founding father of Households Supporting Households In opposition to Police Violence.
Garraway listed different officers who have been in coaching roles after they killed civilians:
Derek Chauvin, an MPD discipline coaching officer, murdered George Floyd in 2020.
Kim Potter, a Brooklyn Heart coaching officer, killed Daunte Wright in 2021.
Jason Schmidt, one other MPD coaching officer, fatally shot Dolal Idd in 2020.
“These will not be remoted instances,” mentioned Garraway. “We should cease selling the individuals who have induced essentially the most hurt.”
Andre Locke, Amir Locke’s father, known as the promotion “disrespectful.”
“You appoint the officer, who took my son’s life, to coach others?” he mentioned. “That’s completely disrespectful.”
Fallout and accountability
Michelle Gross of CUAPB demanded Hanneman’s fast removing. “He must be faraway from coaching, and albeit, he must be fired,” she mentioned.
In an announcement after the press convention, MPD Chief Brian O’Hara mentioned Hanneman’s coaching tenure is at present set by August. “What he does subsequent might be based mostly on the wants of the division and our continued objective to construct neighborhood belief,” O’Hara wrote.
Activists say the appointment does the other.
The Minneapolis Police Division is at present working beneath a consent decree with the Minnesota Division of Human Rights after a 2023 investigation discovered a “sample or apply” of racial discrimination. In that context, critics say Hanneman’s elevation to a management function erodes public belief.
Highlight on Mayor Frey
A lot of the frustration was additionally directed at Mayor Jacob Frey, who holds sole authority over the police division beneath the town’s “robust mayor” system accepted by voters in 2021. Although Hanneman was appointed by then-Interim Chief Amelia Huffman in 2021, activists say the mayor bears final accountability.
“From the very starting, Mayor Frey responded to the killing of Amir Locke with chilling casualness,” mentioned Kristen Ingle, co-founder of SouthWest Alliance for Fairness. She cited Frey’s 2022 feedback, during which he mentioned the town’s no-knock coverage lacked “vital precision or nuance.” That coverage, touted as a ban throughout his re-election marketing campaign, was in place when Locke was killed.
“You can not kick the can down the street and blame the Metropolis Council or anybody else,” Levy Armstrong mentioned. “You alone are accountable for these choices.”
In an emailed assertion, Frey’s workplace famous that the division’s use-of-force insurance policies are topic to oversight by a court-appointed impartial monitor: “Nobody has to take our phrase that we’re dedicated to reform on religion alone.”
Political implications
With the 2025 mayoral race underway, activists like Marcia Howard, a neighborhood organizer and labor chief, view the mayor’s inaction as politically motivated.
“If I have been an elected official watching the wind blow, I’d elevate a killer cop to coach different cops,” mentioned Howard. “This isn’t about security. This can be a political pivot.”
As Minneapolis continues to reckon with its policing programs, neighborhood members say Hanneman’s appointment is a step backward — each for justice and for belief.
Editor’s Observe: Practically all the suggestions from the mayor’s Group Security Work Group talked about on this article have been marked as full. A public dashboard monitoring the standing of these suggestions is offered at: https://www.minneapolismn.gov/authorities/mayor/issues-and-priorities/community-safety/work-group/tracker
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This story was reprinted with permission from the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.
