Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara resigned after Mayor Jacob Frey said he would be disciplined for interfering with an internal investigation. Investigators allege O'Hara deleted a contact from his city phone and told a colleague about the probe after being instructed to keep it confidential; allegations of intimate relationships with staff were not substantiated. Seventeen separate complaints against O'Hara remain under review. Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell is serving as interim chief during the search for a replacement.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara Resigns After Findings He Interfered With Internal Probe
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara walks at the scene where a driver was shot by a US immigration agent on January 7. - Tim Evans/Reuters
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, who was hired to lead reform efforts after George Floyd's killing, resigned Tuesday after Mayor Jacob Frey said he would face disciplinary action for interfering with an internal investigation into his conduct.
Investigators looked into allegations that O'Hara had intimate relationships with city employees; those relationship claims were not substantiated. However, a written reprimand obtained by The Associated Press says investigators concluded O'Hara interfered with the probe. The reprimand alleges he deleted a contact card from his city-issued phone to shield potential evidence and informed another city employee about the investigation after being instructed to keep it confidential.
Frey told O'Hara he would be disciplined — up to and including termination — and O'Hara chose to resign instead, the mayor said.
“It was an extremely painful decision, obviously, but I concluded that that was necessary to maintain public trust, and this was the right way to move forward as a city,” Frey said. “Trust is not secondary to the job. It is the job.”
The mayor's office said 17 separate complaints against O'Hara remain open and will continue to be investigated, according to spokesperson Jennifer Lor, who declined to discuss their substance. O'Hara did not immediately respond to a LinkedIn message requesting comment.
Background
O'Hara became chief in 2022 amid a national reassessment of policing after the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, an event that spurred global Black Lives Matter protests and renewed calls to reform police practices and training.
In the wake of Floyd's death, Minneapolis entered an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to overhaul police training and use-of-force policies; that agreement was later canceled by the Justice Department. O'Hara also led the department's response to the deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic School last August and publicly criticized federal immigration-enforcement tactics last December after video showed a federal agent kneeling on a woman's back during an arrest.
Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell will serve as interim chief while the city conducts a search for a permanent replacement, Frey said.
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