“Amir Locke Should Be Alive,” read a banner held by community members during a press conference at Minneapolis City Hall on July 22. The gathering, organized by Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB), condemned the Minneapolis Police Department’s decision to appoint Sgt. Mark Hanneman as its new use-of-force training officer.
On Feb. 2, 2022, Hanneman fatally shot 22-year-old Locke during a pre-dawn no-knock raid at Bolero Flats in downtown Minneapolis. Locke, who was not named in the warrant, was awakened on a couch by officers entering with guns drawn. He was shot within seconds of the raid’s start.
Although Hanneman was not criminally charged, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and then-Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman declined to prosecute, and civil litigation by Locke’s family remains pending…