MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥� In a city that often seems to be staggering from one crisis to the next, the sudden resignation of after a finding he likely interfered in a misconduct investigation has left Minneapolis searching again for a way forward.
O鈥橦ara was an outsider brought in with a mandate to after the 2020 killing of which led to federal and state investigative findings of excessive force and racist policing practices. O鈥橦ara had spent most of his career in Newark, New Jersey, where he instituted changes after that department was put under a federal consent decree for patterns of excessive force and unconstitutional stops and searches.
The challenges in Minneapolis were clear before in late 2022. For a time, it had seemed the department itself might not survive. In 2021, more than 43% of voters supported disbanding the department as the city reeled from Floyd鈥檚 killing and the massive protests and widespread rioting that followed.
O’Hara was faced with a daunting challenge
Policing experts had noted the monumental task that faced the city鈥檚 next police chief, who would have to rebuild community trust and a department whose morale had dipped so low that it was hemorrhaging officers.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there was a bigger challenge to any American city than what Minneapolis faced when he arrived,鈥� said Chuck Wexler, executive director of a Washington think tank, the Police Executive Research Forum. 鈥淭hey had gone from 850 to 500 officers, violent crime was significantly up, trust with the community was broken, a police station had burned down and a federal consent decree would face the next chief. Then you had the politics of Minneapolis.鈥�
Coming in as an outsider to lead a large department is daunting, even without being asked to reform and rebuild, said Ren茅e Hall, president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives who moved from Detroit to lead the Dallas Police Department from 2017 to 2020.
鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely challenging to walk into an organization, where you don鈥檛 even know where the light switches are, where the bathrooms are. And that鈥檚 just the basics,鈥� Hall said. 鈥淵ou have to learn the officers, the community, the politics of that particular city, and try to learn and navigate the existing relationships, like unions or officer associations and who is tied to whom and who is fighting for whom.鈥�
Hall said outside hires can face resentment from those within an organization who supported internal candidates. They also have to earn the trust of the community, which she said takes time.
Local politics muddy the chief’s departure
After the police disbandment measure failed, O’Hara joined the bureaucracy of a deeply progressive city that is regularly buffeted by political battles between the mayor and the City Council, and among council members.
Those battles were on full display Wednesday, when a City Council news conference about O’Hara’s resignation quickly turned into an opportunity for the council’s resolute progressives to attack Mayor Jacob Frey, who has long portrayed himself as a 鈥減ragmatic progressive.鈥�
The resignation 鈥渋s a symptom of a much larger problem, which is simply that Mayor Frey continues to be unable to effectively manage the Minneapolis Police Department,鈥� said Council member Robin Wonsley, a cornerstone of the council’s progressive bloc.
Frey, who just weeks ago pushed to have O’Hara reappointed as chief, fired back at criticism that he didn鈥檛 move aggressively enough when allegations of the chief’s potential misconduct emerged.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 make decisions based on rumors and anonymous complaints,鈥� he said in a statement, adding that he would work with the council to find a replacement. 鈥淚 took action promptly after receiving the investigative report. 鈥� Decisions this serious have to be grounded in facts, evidence and completed investigations. Anything less would be irresponsible.鈥�
O’Hara did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday. His attorney, Doug Kelley, released a statement touting successes during O’Hara’s tenure, including diversifying and increasing the department’s ranks, the decreasing violent crime rate and mitigating violent clashes during the immigration crackdown.
鈥淭he circumstances of Chief O鈥橦ara鈥檚 departure should not define his service,” Kelley wrote. “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.鈥�
O’Hara’s tenure was tumultuous
The resignation came just months after Minneapolis was plunged into the national spotlight amid that left three civilians shot, two fatally. O’Hara faced criticism he hadn’t done enough to stop the crackdown.
Violence plagued the city in 2025, including in the Minneapolis suburbs; gunfire that erupted at a popular city picnic spot; and a during Mass at the Church of the Annunciation that left two children dead and more than a dozen people injured. O鈥橦ara called the church attack a 鈥� 鈥�
Critics say dozens of complaints were filed against O’Hara, from accusations that he was rude to the public to the recent investigation into an ultimately unproven allegation he had a sexual relationship with a city employee. Most of the complaints have not been made public, and 17 complaints are still being investigated. Investigators closed 17 more without any disciplinary actions.
An independent investigator did not find evidence to substantiate the alleged sexual relationship with a city employee, but a second report released this week said O’Hara likely deleted the employee’s contact from his phone during the investigation and that he talked to another employee about the probe despite being told it was not to be discussed.
That recent report led to a written reprimand; Frey told O’Hara he would be disciplined and that he could be terminated. Frey said O’Hara chose to resign instead.
Frey appointed an interim chief Tuesday from inside the department, and he has 30 days to nominate a successor under the city’s charter. ___
Lauer reported from Philadelphia.
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