Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara is resigning under disciplinary pressure.
It comes as an investigative report with “concerning substantiated findings” were to be released that could result in discipline and possible termination, according to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
The mayor said an anonymous tip came in last year that the chief had intimate sexual relationships into city employees.
"Although the investigators have concluded that this interference does not change their ultimate conclusion contained in the original report, in other words, the allegations of relationships with city employees, the interference itself is a breach of trust," Frey said Tuesday.
Even though those sexual allegations were found to be unsubstantiated, Frey said O'Hara interfered in that process, including deleting contact cards from his city-issued cell phone in an attempt to shield the information.
"And even though he was instructed not to discuss the investigation itself with anyone, he told another city employee that his city cell phone had been taken from him for the investigation," Frey noted.
Frey said when faced with discipline, possibly up to termination, O'Hara chose to resign.
"This is not about being intolerant of mistakes," said Frey. "Everyone makes mistakes, including me. But what I can't allow is a breach of trust. When you serve as chief of the Minneapolis Police Department, trust is not secondary to the job, it is the job."
Frey also announced that Katie Blackwell would serve as interim chief, and a search for a new chief would begin immediately.
O'Hara was hired as chief in 2022, and Frey recently nominated him for another four-year term. He added Tuesday night that knowing what he knows now, he would not have re-nominated the chief.
