From Fatal Raid to Wellness Leader: MPD Sergeant’s Role Draws Scrutiny

The fatal shooting of Amir Locke occurred less than two years after the murder of George Floyd, reigniting widespread outrage over another killing of a Black man by police. It also renewed scrutiny of MPD’s policies, particularly the use of no-knock warrants.

The Minneapolis police officer that shot and killed 22-year-old Amir Locke during a no-knock raid in 2022 is now a leader within the Minneapolis Police Department’s new Health & Wellness Division.

Mark Hanneman, along with the City of Minneapolis, is also currently being sued by Amir's family in federal court. Their lawsuit alleges that Amir'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. The City of Minneapolis and Hanneman have unsuccessfully tried to kill the federal lawsuit three times: at the trial court, at the Eighth Circuit and at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Hanneman Takes Role in MPD Wellness Unit

On March 4, Hanneman went before the city council, asking them to approve the reallocation of funds to support the creation of a Health and Wellness Director position. 

“It's critical and vital to our ongoing work to make certain that all members of MPD are prepared to face the challenges that they often do throughout this job,” Hanneman told the council.

Ward 2 Council Member Robin Wonsley pushed back, given the position would be paid for, in part, by getting rid of an existing Hennepin County embedded social work contract. She has also noted the irony of an officer who killed an unarmed Black man now advocating for the health and wellness of others.

“Under the Frey administration, MPD receives millions to support officer wellness, while the families of those harmed by police violence are left grieving stolen loved ones and repeatedly denied justice,” said Wonsley. “These officers are still being moved through the police department. And we're also seeing a tax on the services or other safety services that do actually support and uplift our young people.” 


This isn’t the first time Hanneman’s role within MPD has been under scrutiny. This past July, the public learned that he had been promoted to Sergeant and was the lead use-of-force trainer for the department. After intense public pressure, Hanneman was reassigned in August to the Health and Wellness Division. 

Civil Rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong was the co-chair of the Frey’s Workgroup on Community Safety when Amir was killed. 

“That particular incident is very disturbing in our community in terms of an innocent young Black man who was killed while sleeping on his cousin's couch, and then how the MPD tried to cover up that killing, allowing and calling Amir Locke a suspect, when he had nothing to do with it,” she said. “Why is the city still wrangling with his family and federal court when they know an injustice happened?” 

Nekima added that Frey’s current $40 million ask to build a new Public Safety Training and Wellness Center in South Minneapolis is out of touch with community needs.

“There's some backward practices that need to be addressed within MPD that have absolutely nothing to do with the new facility,” she said. “MPD has been a source of tremendous harm, criminalization and brutality and there's still folks suffering the losses of their loved ones as a result of the conduct of the Minneapolis Police Department over the years.”

Ultimately, the city council did agreed to grant the MPD's request for the new Director of Health and Wellness position, sending it to Mayor Jacob Frey's desk for final approval.