Opinion | Minneapolis can’t promote officers tied to police violence and call it reform

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Does the city of Minneapolis think we are stupid?

On Tuesday, the Minneapolis Police Department announced that Sgt. Mark Hanneman has been confirmed as the MPD’s lead use-of-force training instructor. Chief Brian O’Hara called it “the best decision” to advance the city’s reform efforts. This announcement comes despite widespread public concern — and pain — surrounding Hanneman’s record, particularly his role in the 2022 killing of Amir Locke during a no-knock warrant operation. [Opinion editor’s note: Hanneman is the officer who shot Locke. Prosecutors declined to file charges.]

It also comes just days after the third anniversary of the killing of Tekle Sundberg, another young Black man, shot by MPD snipers during a SWAT standoff. Tekle’s parents announced this week that they are suing the city of Minneapolis and its officers for civil rights violations. And in a strange twist of timing, the announcement of Hanneman’s promotion came a day before families affected by police violence were to receive an honorary resolution from the Minneapolis City Council acknowledging their pain and suffering, while the very system that inflicted that pain remains untouched.

This is what emotional whiplash looks like.

The city can’t continue handing grieving families symbolic pieces of paper with one hand while elevating officers who caused their grief with the other. To promote Hanneman and call it “reform” is a cynical, insulting distortion of what meaningful change looks like.

What’s even more troubling is the city’s failure to offer a shred of public transparency around the decision. The MPD expects the community to take its word that this is the right move. But we have yet to see information about what qualifies Hanneman to teach others how to use force — no details about his training philosophy, credentials or approach. What makes him uniquely suited to shape the next generation of officers? Why should Minneapolis residents believe this will lead to better outcomes, rather than more of the same?

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights both released damning reports documenting the MPD’s pattern and practice of unconstitutional policing, including its deeply broken training programs.

The MPD’s internal leadership knows its training systems are part of the problem. The DOJ cited a lack of criteria for instructor selection, minimal oversight and widespread deficiencies in basic educational practices. So what’s different now? What evaluation process was used to select Hanneman? Has the MPD addressed any of the systemic failures identified in these reports? Or are we simply being asked to trust that the department knows what it’s doing — again?

Promoting officers with violent or controversial histories is not a path to reform. It’s a recipe for re-traumatization and deepened mistrust. If the city is serious about change, it must demonstrate that it understands the gravity of its past and present harms. That begins with centering the voices of those most affected, like the families of Amir Locke and Tekle Sundberg, not ignoring them.

Symbolic gestures like honorary resolutions may be well-intentioned. But they are empty without action to match. If anything, they highlight the gap between the words city leaders speak and the decisions they make. That gap has defined Minneapolis’s post-George Floyd era — a city that claims to be a national leader in police reform while quietly promoting the same people and practices that led to the crisis in the first place.

The community deserves better. Minneapolis deserves better. And families like the Sundbergs and Lockes deserve more than platitudes. They deserve a city that doesn’t just talk about justice — but works for it.

Until that happens, we see these decisions for what they are: not reform, but resistance to it.

Emma Pederson lives in Minneapolis. This commentary was submitted on behalf of The Reinvestigation Workgroup, Impacted Siblings Take Action, Native Lives Matter Minnesota, and the Minnesota Justice Coalition.