Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara resigned on Tuesday after a report found that he probably interfered with an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct. The resignation came after a meeting with Mayor Jacob Frey, who had earlier this month nominated O'Hara for a second term to lead the department, which has been in turmoil since the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
Investigation Findings
The investigation into O'Hara's conduct found no evidence to confirm allegations of improper sexual relationships with city employees, according to the New York Times. However, it concluded that O'Hara likely deleted a contact from his phone last year while facing a previous internal investigation, amounting to interference.
Mayor's Response
Mayor Jacob Frey issued O'Hara a "serious misconduct" reprimand after receiving the report and warned that he faced discipline up to and including dismissal. At a Tuesday evening press conference, Frey announced O'Hara's resignation and stated that he had lost confidence in the chief's ability to lead. "Trust is not secondary to the job, it is the job," Frey said. "When trust is broken it becomes extremely difficult to continue leading effectively."
In a letter to O'Hara, Frey wrote: "Your behavior, as substantiated by the investigation, demonstrates poor judgment, is inconsistent with the level of integrity this role requires, and has made it extraordinarily difficult for you to continue effectively in your role." O'Hara has not yet commented publicly about his resignation.
O'Hara's Tenure
O'Hara was appointed in November 2022 with a mandate to reform the Minneapolis Police Department, which had seen four officers sentenced for their involvement in Floyd's 2020 murder, including Derek Chauvin. A two-year Justice Department investigation concluded in 2023 that the department engaged in a pattern of excessive force and years of unlawful discrimination against Black Americans.
Frey credited O'Hara with rebuilding public trust in the department, but said that trust needed to extend to the person leading it. "Everyone makes mistakes, including me, but what I can't allow is a breach of trust," Frey said. This was a reversal from his position earlier this month, when he said O'Hara was "the right leader for this moment and for this city."
O'Hara is credited with reversing a wave of resignations from the police department and heading off a call from some Black lawmakers to disband the force, a proposal rejected by voters in 2021. More recently, he was a vocal critic of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement surge into Minneapolis, which saw the deaths of two unarmed US citizen protesters in January by federal officers. He condemned the shootings on CBS's Face the Nation, stating that Minneapolis residents had "had enough" of the violence.
The June 2025 murders of Democratic Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic school in south Minneapolis two months later, also occurred during O'Hara's tenure. At the nomination event on May 7, Frey noted that the number of police officers had climbed from 550 to over 640, applications were up by 200%, and crime had fallen across the city.
Interim Leadership
Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell will take over acting leadership of the department until a permanent replacement is found. Blackwell is expected to be among the candidates for the permanent role.
