Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara resigned Tuesday rather than face disciplinary action after investigators determined he had interfered with a probe into his conduct, Mayor Jacob Frey announced.
Frey said O’Hara, who was hired in 2022 to lead reforms following the killing of George Floyd, deleted a contact card from his city-issued cell phone and disclosed details of the investigation to another employee despite being told to keep the matter confidential. The allegations that prompted the original inquiry involved claims of intimate relationships with city employees, though those claims were never substantiated, according to a written reprimand obtained by The Associated Press.
“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 confirmed that O’Hara chose resignation over possible termination. Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell has assumed leadership of the department while a search for a permanent replacement begins.
The city still has 17 open complaints against O’Hara that are separate from the investigation that led to the reprimand, mayor’s office spokesperson Jennifer Lor said. Those complaints will continue to be examined, though Lor declined to discuss their specific nature.
O’Hara did not respond to a request for comment sent via LinkedIn. The chief had led the department through several high-profile events, including the federal immigration enforcement actions that drew protests in Minneapolis last year and the response to the deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in August.
O’Hara had publicly criticized some immigration enforcement tactics, including an incident in December when a federal agent was recorded kneeling on a woman’s back during an arrest. The episode placed Minneapolis officers under scrutiny from multiple directions, with some residents accusing them of assisting federal agents and others saying they were not doing enough to intervene.
The department’s recent history remains tied to the aftermath of Floyd’s death in 2020, which sparked nationwide protests and a push to reexamine policing practices. Minneapolis later entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to revise training and use-of-force policies, though that agreement was later canceled under the Trump administration.
Frey emphasized that the decision to accept O’Hara’s resignation was driven by the need to preserve confidence in city leadership. The mayor noted that the interference findings alone were sufficient to warrant discipline, regardless of the outcome of the original allegations.
City officials said the investigation into O’Hara’s conduct began after complaints were received, though they have not released the full timeline or the names of the employees involved. The written reprimand cited the deletion of the contact card and the unauthorized disclosure as direct violations of instructions given during the probe.
Blackwell, who previously served as assistant chief, will oversee daily operations in the interim. Frey said the search for a new chief will be conducted with an emphasis on restoring public confidence in the department.
Community reaction has been muted so far, with local leaders waiting for more details to emerge from the mayor’s office. Some council members have called for a full accounting of the 17 remaining complaints before any permanent leadership change is finalized.
The episode marks another chapter in the ongoing challenges facing the Minneapolis Police Department as it continues to navigate reforms and public expectations more than five years after Floyd’s death.