Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara has resigned following an internal investigation into his conduct, the mayor announced Tuesday evening.
“Everyone makes mistakes, including me, but what I can’t allow is a breach of trust,” Frey said in a press conference. “When you serve as chief of the Minneapolis Police Department, trust is not secondary to the job, it is the job. When trust is broken, it becomes extremely difficult to continue leading effectively.”
In a written reprimand to the police chief, Frey said an investigation into O’Hara’s behavior found he interfered with a prior investigation that included allegations he had “engaged in sexual intimate relationships” with city employees.
Frey said the investigation substantiated that O’Hara “knowingly and intentionally” deleted a contact card for a city employee from his city-issued cell phone during the original investigation, “in an attempt to shield that evidence” of his connection to the employee from investigators. O’Hara also told another city employee that his city-issued phone was taken from him for the investigation despite “explicit instructions not to discuss any aspect of the original investigation with anyone,” Frey said.
“Although the investigators have concluded that the underlying allegations from the original investigation remain not substantiated, your interference with the investigation risked the integrity of the investigation and constitutes a significant breach of trust,” Frey’s reprimand to the chief said.
Frey said Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell is the acting police chief effective immediately.
Resignation comes days after Frey’s re-nomination to continue in position
Earlier this month, O’Hara was re-nominated as police chief by Frey, with the mayor saying, “he’s the right leader for this moment.” He was first sworn in as chief in November 2022, with one of his first priorities being rebuilding the ranks of the depleted police force.
O’Hara is a New Jersey native. He started as an officer in Newark, served as public safety director and was deputy mayor of Newark before taking the chief job in Minneapolis.
The 47-year-old is married and has two children who live on the East Coast.
O’Hara faced criticism from council, community members
In a statement following the mayor’s announcement, City Council President Elliott Payne said it “was a massive error in judgment for Mayor Frey to nominate Chief O’Hara while there were active investigations into very serious accusations that had been rumored for months.”
“This is what happens when you prioritize optics and political expediency over governance and accountability,” Payne said. “This is also another indictment of Toddrick Barnette’s lack of oversight of MPD and its leadership. Minneapolis residents deserve better from leaders of such important public safety departments.”
Council members Soren Stevenson and Jason Chavez both echoed Payne’s comments, with Chavez adding his “hope is that Mayor Frey will work with the City Council in finding a new Chief and Commissioner for the Office of Community Safety.”
Payne, Chavez and Council member Robin Wonsley plan to address O’Hara’s resignation at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Frey’s renomination of Barnette as commissioner of community safety was rejected by the City Council, but Frey vetoed the move and the council lacked the votes to override him. Minneapolis City Attorney Kristyn Anderson said the back-and-forth leaves the appointment “sort of in a limbo position.”
In April, some council members raised concerns about the Minneapolis Police Department’s spending. During Operation Metro Surge, MPD spent more than $5 million — double its budgeted overtime amount. O’Hara also faced pushback from community members over his handling of the immigration enforcement operation.
According to city data, as of early April, there had been a total of 30 complaints filed against O’Hara during his tenure. The Office of Community Safety closed eight of them, finding no discipline was necessary. The other 22 remained open as of early April.
O’Hara said at the time he believed the Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge had something to do with many of them. He added he is not notified when a complaint is filed, nor would he have been told the specifics of them. Details about these complaints are kept secret, including from the public. They can be lodged by a fellow officer or by anyone from anywhere in the country — Minneapolis residency is not a requirement.
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