Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara has resigned following a misconduct investigation that ultimately found he interfered with an internal review tied to allegations involving inappropriate relationships with city employees, marking a major leadership shakeup in one of the nation’s most closely scrutinized police departments.
The resignation, announced by Mayor Jacob Frey, came after officials concluded that O’Hara’s actions undermined the integrity of an active investigation and represented a serious breakdown of trust at the highest level of the department.
Frey said leadership of the police force depends on public confidence that cannot be compromised.
“Everyone makes mistakes, including me, but what I can’t allow is a breach of trust,” Frey said, adding that trust is central to the role of police chief and not secondary to it.
The case centers on an anonymous complaint first brought to city officials alleging O’Hara had engaged in sexual relationships with city employees.
That initial investigation did not substantiate the underlying allegations, according to officials.
However, a later internal review found that O’Hara improperly interfered with the investigative process.
According to the findings, he deleted a contact from a city-issued phone that investigators believed was relevant to the inquiry and communicated about the investigation with individuals he had been directed not to contact.
Officials concluded these actions compromised the integrity of the review process, even though the original allegations were not proven.
Investigators also determined O’Hara had been explicitly instructed not to discuss the matter with city employees but did so anyway, further contributing to findings of procedural misconduct, according to KSTP.
Frey said O’Hara was informed of potential disciplinary action, including termination, before submitting his resignation and chose to step down rather than proceed through that process, CBS News reported.
The fallout quickly sparked political criticism at City Hall.
City Council President Elliott Payne said it was a “massive error in judgment” for the mayor to move forward with O’Hara’s renomination while investigations were still ongoing, arguing it reflected deeper failures in oversight and accountability, according to FOX 9.
Other council members raised similar concerns, pointing to broader tensions between the mayor’s office and the City Council over governance of public safety agencies and leadership transparency within the Minneapolis Police Department.
Frey later said the outcome of the investigation changed his assessment and that he would not have supported the nomination had the findings been known earlier.
The resignation adds to ongoing instability within the department, which continues to face long-term challenges tied to staffing shortages, public scrutiny, and reform efforts in the years following the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
O’Hara, a former Newark public safety official, was appointed chief in 2022 and took over during a period of sustained reform pressure and organizational strain.
His tenure included efforts to rebuild staffing levels and stabilize operations amid continuing public criticism of policing practices in the city.
City officials have not yet announced a timeline for selecting a permanent replacement. Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell will serve as interim chief during the transition period.
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