Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced on Monday that he will be stepping down when his term ends after serving in his position for four years.
It has been a looming question whether or not Chief Arradondo would stay in his position, especially after four years of service that saw more than most chiefs see in a decade. Now after 32 years on the force, Arradondo will retire at the start of next year.
Arradondo was appointed as Minneapolis Police Chief by former Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges in 2017 when he took over for Janeé Harteau. Since then, he has worked with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on several challenging issues facing the city.
Earlier this year, some questioned Arradondo's return with question two on the Minneapolis ballot possibly being a reason for his departure if it had passed.
Arradondo has not been a stranger to calling for reform as he said in 2019 that he wants his legacy to be that of change, however, he made it clear before election day in November that he was against the measure to remove the Minneapolis Police department and replace it with a Department of Public Safety.
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The news from the chief also comes weeks after St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell announced that he would not be returning as the chief of the city's police force when his term ends next summer.
"Today, I let the Mayor and the women and men of the SPPD know that I will not be pursuing a second term when my current six-year appointment ends next June," Axtell said in a post on Facebook.
Over the last year and a half, since the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police, the MPD has lost 300 officers, according to a report from the MN Reformer.
Less than a month after Floyd's death, when it was reported that seven officers had walked off the force, Arradondo shared that what they were seeing was unprecedented.
"These men and women, both sworn in and civilian, have gone through something in the last three weeks that we have never experienced in the 152-year history of the MPD," Arradondo said.
At that point in time, Arradondo acknowledged the angst and anxiety they and their families must have been facing in the midst of a pandemic and civil unrest.
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Despite the loss of officers, Arradondo also shared that those who stayed on at that point would not see the same MPD they had been accustomed to.
"This is going to be tough work. It's going to be very challenging work," Arradondo said while also saying he would be there to help carry the load.
After four years in his position, he is stepping down and leaving what he hopes is a legacy of change.
An interim chief will be announced this week and Arradondo will stay on until mid-January 2022.
