Minneapolis officer who killed Amir Locke will finish leading use of force training next month

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara says Sgt. Mark Hanneman — the officer who was promoted months after fatally shooting 22-year-old Amir Locke in 2022 and now leads use-of-force training — will see that training through its completion.

The entire department is currently undergoing training on new use-of-force policies that were approved as part of a settlement agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. The training is anticipated to end in August.

“Sgt. Hanneman’s work on the current use of force training will be completed in August. That work has been reviewed and approved by the City’s independent evaluator,” he said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon. “What he does next will continue to be based on the needs of the department and our continued goal to build community trust.”

The chief’s statement follows outcry over the department’s choice to put the officer who fatally shot a Black man during a no-knock raid at the helm of use-of-force training — and calls for accountability from the mayor and police chief over their commitment to reform and racial justice as they have defended that choice.

At Minneapolis City Hall earlier on Tuesday, a group of police accountability and racial justice advocates spoke out about Hanneman’s promotion, which was reported by MPR News last week. Some called for Hanneman to be removed as a trainer and fired.

It was not immediately clear from O’Hara’s statement whether or not Hanneman would be removed from the training division.

The group at City Hall included Andre Locke, Amir Locke’s father, who urged others to imagine what it feels like to have their own child killed by police.

“Here we go again. Me here having to humanize my son, to tell you that he was a human being, to express to you that he had a heart that was beating,” Locke said.

“The MPD use of force has been deemed unconstitutionally insufficient, but you appoint the officer who took my son’s life, you appoint him to a position where he’s able to train others. That’s absolutely disrespectful,” he continued. “It’s more than a slap in the face … it’s a blatant disrespect to our entire community and we demand justice.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.