I have probably written too much about Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara over the past few years. I thought he willfully sold out his department in the various pattern-and-practice civil rights cases brought against it by the state and federal government. He agreed to absurd consent decrees that followed on those cases, although the Trump administration nixed the federal consent decree. To top it off, he supported Deputy Chief Katie Blackwell in her self-immolating defamation lawsuit against Alpha News while trashing Alpha News in the process.
Yesterday O’Hara resigned as chief ahead of his firing by the mayor who has stood by him through all of the above. O’Hara was found to have interfered in an investigation of his alleged sexual misconduct. The details of the sexual misconduct are vague. A friendly source has kindly forwarded a copy of the investigative report as redacted.
I thought that O’Hara was a spineless weasel. The department remains far short of the legally required number of officers. Who in his right mind would go to work for the department?
However, I don’t celebrate his departure. He will undoubtedly be replaced by someone worse than he is. For example, Katie Blackwell will now serve as acting chief. That is pathetic. Who in his right mind would want to be the chief of the Minneapolis Police Department?
The CBS News story bringing the O’Hara saga up to date is posted here.For those interesed in the latest chapter of this saga, I have embedded the investigative report below.
UPDATE by JOHN: My colleague David Zimmerman, a 33-year law enforcement professional in the Twin Cities, offers his thoughts on O’Hara’s ouster here. The real problem, he thinks, is with the Minneapolis City Council, and a new police chief isn’t likely to change things for the better.
