Minneapolis police chief resigns: Anonymous police officer reaction

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]We begin tonight with a live look at Minneapolis, which is once again looking for a new police chief. This after Chief Brian O'Hara resigns in a leadership shakeup that shocked the city and the state. Good evening. Thanks for joining us as we continue to follow this significant development. I'm Randy Meyer >> and I'm Kelsey Carlson. O'Hara's resignation came in the face of reprimand after the mayor says O'Hara interfered with an investigation against him into allegations of sexual misconduct with city employees. the mayor addressing both in an interview in with Fox 9.

[00:00:33]>> It was painful. Uh it was a painful decision, but it was not a hard one. Uh in that again, it is my responsibility to uphold public trust.

[00:00:43]>> Well, for the first time, we are also hearing from O'Hara's attorney.

[00:00:47]>> He released a statement that says in part, "The circumstances of Chief O'Hara's departure should not define his service. He was proud to serve Minneapolis. remains grateful to the officers and community partners who did difficult work under extraordinary pressure and hopes the city continues moving forward. He understandably looks forward to returning to his young family in New Jersey. Tonight, we have continuing team coverage of O'Brien O'Hara's resignation and what it means for Minneapolis.

[00:01:16]>> Our Mike Manzone takes a look at the past and present challenges O'Hara faced that could be passed on to his replacement. First though, our so young Kim has answers on a question that some have asked, which is why wasn't O'Hara placed on leave as he was being investigated.

[00:01:31]Mayor Fry joined us on all day and says he stands by his decisions and the timing of those actions. Fry tells us he was not going to make any decisions based on what he calls rumors and anonymous complaints.

[00:01:45]This is the job that I have as mayor to investigate to look at the facts and yes in some cases like yesterday to make a painful but correct decision uh that discipline needed to be issued.

[00:01:58]>> Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry says he understands the weight of his decisions.

[00:02:02]>> An investigation was conducted. Certain allegations were substantiated and those allegations that were substantiated saw discipline occur. Fry announced he accepted now former police chief Brian O'Hara's resignation Tuesday, stemming from allegations O'Hara interfered with an investigation into his conduct. Some city council members questioning why O'Hara was not placed on leave as the investigation played out over the course of the past year, pointing to other local departments that took a different approach.

[00:02:33]>> Neighboring jurisdictions took immediate action. And we're talking about Metro Transit, Golden Valley, and Rosemount.

[00:02:40]all of their police departments placed their chief of police on administrative leave once allegations triggered uh investigation into potential misconduct.

[00:02:50]Fry reacting to that criticism Wednesday. He explains why he waited to take action.

[00:02:56]>> To put the police chief on leave based on an anonymous complaint or a rumor would be tantamount to a termination.

[00:03:07]uh and to terminate someone uh again without anything being substantiated would be incredibly irresponsible.

[00:03:16]>> And Mayor Fry's office also says none of the original allegations were substantiated. Kelsey, >> all right, thank you so young. And a group of Minneapolis police officers sent Fox 9 anonymous reaction to O'Hara's resignation that reads, quote, "Everybody is shocked. Everyone is sad to see him go. Everyone is embarrassed."

[00:03:36]embarrassed that we are on the front page of national news again. At the end of the day, we all have a job to do and it doesn't matter who our chief is. It just sucks that there is another major distraction that takes away from the good work that police officers do every day.

[00:03:51]>> I had heard rumors and I had asked the mayor about whether or not he knew of these rumors and he said, "There is we've heard rumors and there's no evidence. We have investigated it." Now, some of the rumors about Brian O'Harez stem from an anonymous letter received in 2022 when he was working with the Newark Police Department. It alleged at the time that O'Hara failed to meet the expectations as a chief and it also interfered with both criminal and internal affairs investigations. Fox 9 was not able to substantiate any of those allegations as well. New tonight, who would want to be the next Minneapolis police chief? We'll soon find out. But is Minneapolis a tough cell for top prospects? Fox 9's Mike Manzone joining us now. And Mike, the city council continues to fight the mayor, especially when it comes to law enforcement.

[00:04:40]>> Yeah, they've already rejected his pick for community safety commissioner twice now. And some say they had concerns about Chief O'Hara's leadership even before last night's bombshell announcement. The question now, what happens next?

[00:04:54]>> We'll recruit a top-notch talent. Mayor Jacob Fry is confident that he'll find someone worthwhile to replace former police chief Brian O'Hara. And at least one city council member is also optimistic about it.

[00:05:07]>> The force is coming back. Recruitment is great. The morale is high. We're very uh for someone that's upandcomer. Uh we're a very attractive candidacy to be a chief of police.

[00:05:18]>> But it's not an easy job in a city that's dealt with the fallout over George Floyd's murder. A justice department report finding rampant civil rights violations, ongoing police department staffing issues.

[00:05:31]>> I believe that uh no means no and the council has said no.

[00:05:36]>> And a city council that routinely clashes with the mayor. The council is still fighting him over his choice to reappoint community safety commissioner Todd Barnett, who oversees the police department. I think that Minneapolis is attractive to candidates who want big city experience.

[00:05:53]>> Fox 9 political analyst Bliss Olsen says he doesn't foresee any problems finding candidates and he points out that the mayor still has a lot of power in picking the next chief.

[00:06:05]>> I don't think you can try to make all 13 members happy, but you have to get to six or seven members that are happy and then convince the council that the mayor is the mayor. He won the election and he gets to a point who he gets to appoint.

[00:06:18]>> And there is still no word yet on exactly when that search will begin.

[00:06:22]Kelsey Brandy.

[00:06:23]>> All right. Thank you, Mike. And stepping into the police chief role, at least for now, is assistant chief Katie Blackwell.

[00:06:29]Blackwell has been with the department since 2002 and rose through the ranks.

[00:06:34]She became head of the training division, which is what put her on the witness stand in the murder trial of Derek Chovin. his testimony that Chovin uh putting her testimony that Chovin put his knee on George Floyd's neck was inconsistent with training later brought accusations of perjury from former officers. Blackwell filed a defamation suit that was later dismissed. She became assistant chief three years ago and is now acting chief while the search to replace O'Hara plays out.