Minneapolis police chief resigns after interfering with an
investigation, mayor says
[May 27, 2026]
By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, who was hired to oversee reforms
in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing, chose to resign rather than
face disciplinary action for interfering with an investigation into his
conduct, Mayor Jacob Frey announced Tuesday.
O'Hara, who led local police during the recent federal immigration
crackdown in the city, was under investigation on accusations that he
was engaging in intimate relationships with city employees.
While those allegations were never substantiated, Frey said
investigators found that O'Hara had interfered with the probe. He is
accused of deleting a contact card from his city-issued cell phone in an
attempt to shield evidence and telling another city employee about the
investigation after he was instructed to keep it quiet, according to a
written reprimand obtained by The Associated Press.
The mayor told O'Hara he would be disciplined, which could include his
termination. He chose to resign instead, Frey said.
“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,” he added.
The city still has 17 open complaints against O'Hara — separate from the
investigation that resulted in disciplinary action — and will continue
investigating, mayor's office spokesperson Jennifer Lor said. Lor could
not comment on the nature of those complaints.
O'Hara did not immediately respond to a LinkedIn message seeking
comment.
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Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara speaks during a news
conference, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck,
File)
O'Hara became the chief in 2022 as the department was at the center
of a nationwide reckoning over racism and brutality in policing. Two
years prior, Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white officer in
Minneapolis, igniting global Black Lives Matter protests and calls
to defund the police.
Last year, Minneapolis entered an agreement with the federal
government to overhaul its police training and use-of-force policies
in the wake Floyd's murder. The U.S. Department of Justice under
President Donald Trump canceled the agreement months later.
O'Hara oversaw the law enforcement response to the deadly
Annunciation Catholic School shooting last August.
He criticized immigration enforcement tactics in December after a
federal agent kneeled on a woman's back during an arrest and then
tried to drag her to a car. Minneapolis police faced scrutiny from
all sides during Trump's immigration crackdown by people who thought
the officers were helping or hindering federal agents and protests.
Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell has stepped in to lead the
department during the search for a new chief, Frey said.
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