Cop Who Killed Amir Locke Is Now A Police Use-Of-Force Trainer

Sgt. Mark Hanneman, the Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Amir Locke, is now a police use-of-force trainer. — Source: Stephen Maturen / Getty

Look, it’s bad enough when police officers are fired for egregious misconduct or police brutality, only to be hired on by another police department, where they ultimately repeat the same behavior, but the Minneapolis Police Department is really playing around in our faces by giving Amir Locke‘s killer the role of the department’s use-of-force trainer.

According to MPR News, Police Chief Brian O’Hara defended the decision to make Sgt. Mark Hanneman the head cop in charge of teaching other cops when, where and how to use force, claiming he’s an “outstanding” trainer committed to bringing positive change to MPD.

From MPR:

Chief O’Hara said he understands the concerns, but he believes the decision to have Hanneman lead use-of-force trainings will advance cultural change within the department. He said Hanneman, more than others, is a leader in “selling these reforms” to the department. O’Hara added Hanneman has been instrumental in helping develop new use-of-force policies and the training itself.

“The No. 1 commitment that we have is to ensure we’re doing everything we can to make reform real,” O’Hara said. “I know this is difficult and I know a lot of people aren’t going to be happy with it, but I think at this point, having him there, based on all of the information that I have been provided, is the best decision that I can make to continue to advance the reform effort.”

For true advocates against police violence and systemic racism in policing, to hear the leader of the police department that killed, not just Locke, but George Floyd, talk about police reform like it’s a pro-cop marketing strategy while elevating a Black man’s killer to a use-of-force trainer position is especially outrageous. Hanneman will advance “cultural change,” how? What culture would that be? What great change to police culture will come of having a cop who shot a Black man to death, who wasn’t even named in the no-knock warrant Hanneman was executing, develop new use-of-force policies?

On Feb 2, 2022, Mark Hanneman and his SWAT team conducted a no-knock warrant when they encountered Locke, who was fast asleep on a couch in the home. Locke did not live there. Locke, again, was not named in the warrant. He was not even a person of interest, although initially, the MPD did falsely report that he was a suspect. Locke was asleep, and when he was suddenly awakened by cops shouting orders at him, he reached for his gun, which he carried legally, and he was shot dead immediately.

And, of course, the cops’ story didn’t match what was clearly shown in the police body-cam footage.

From Bossip:

According to Newsweek, the body camera video of the incident shows inconsistencies in the police report provided to the press.

Minneapolis Police issued a statement claiming that they “loudly and repeatedly announced their presence, crossed the threshold of the apartment, and advanced with continued loud announcements of their presence.” However, the video clearly shows an officer opening the door with a key and none of the officers state their presence or purpose until they were deep inside the apartment.

Others, like Minnesota Senator Omar Fateh, are also pointing out the fact that a previously sleeping person has no idea what is going on or any ability to react to commands in an instant. It stands to reason that a law-abiding gun owner would stand clear of his weapon if he knew that police were about to enter the premises so that he doesn’t make himself appear to be a threat. Can’t do that if you’re unconscious.

Here’s the thing: Even if one truly believes Hanneman and the rest of his team did everything right and Locke’s death was just a tragic, completely unavoidable accident, why choose him, out of all the other tenured cops in the department, to lead use-of-force training, knowing how massive the community outrage over Locke’s killing was, especially, after it was announced that Hanneman would not be charged?

Also, the MPD, apparently, doesn’t care at all what Locke’s family thinks about all of this.

“If Hanneman is one of the best officers to become a training officer, why is my son Amir Locke not here?” Karen Wells, Locke’s mother, said in response to Hanneman’s new appointment. “They show they don’t care. They show that this is our culture.”

“Anybody that stands behind Mark Hanneman becoming a trainer for other officers, they are going to continue to have the bloodshed of my baby boy, Amir Locke, on their watch, on their hands,” Wells said. “My son was a 22-year-old young man who had a bright future ahead of him, and now he can’t live that out.”

Locke’s parents are suing Hanneman and the city over their son’s death, claiming in the federal lawsuit that their son’s constitutional rights were violated, that MPD failed to adequately train officers, and that the department has a history of using excessive force and no-knock warrants against people of color. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice investigated the Minneapolis Police Department, and — surprise, surprise — it found the MPD and the city of Minneapolis had engaged in a pattern of racist behavior, and had been especially abusive towards Black and Latino civilians.

We’re constantly told we need to respect the police, but do they respect us? The rehiring of racist, brutal cops and the appointment of a killer cop as a trainer for the next potential generation of killer cops shows they do not.

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