Whistleblower within MPD claims they were punished for reporting alleged misconduct of former chief

Chris Madel told WCCO Radio's Chad Hartman his client has faced continued retaliation for bringing damaging information to light, detailed in a recent Minnesota Star Tribune article.

"His motive simply was to tell the truth and to end this sort of, facts constantly being swept under the rug, and this culture of intimidation and retaliation," says Madel. "It has to stop, Chad. It just has to stop."

The 32-page lawsuit has not been filed in court. Madel says that decision is ultimately up to his client who has not been named, but the allegations are damning.

"The timing, it was sent to city attorneys two full weeks before former Chief O'Hara was renominated by the mayor, and it contained both things that we know to be true, including the existence of this recording that prompted the reopening of the misconduct investigation to the chief," Sawyer told WCCO's Jason DeRusha on Monday. "But it also included some new allegations we had not heard before, including some very serious ones that we thought the public had a right to know. And wondered whether the city had taken any steps."

The sudden resignation of O’Hara came after a finding he likely interfered in a misconduct investigation into his own behavior. Facing discipline, O'Hara instead chose to resign, but those investigations stemming from numerous internal complaints are continuing.

The article in the Star Tribune, based on Sawyer's reporting, said the whistleblower alleged that the chief’s longtime driver, officer Abdisamad Ahmed, was tasked with cleaning up his boss’ messes. Often those ranged from intimate affairs with subordinates to repairing a crashed city vehicle “off the books” after a purported drunken driving incident.

"According to this department whistleblower who was fundamental to reopening the investigation into Chief O'Hara, the chief's driver had confessed to him essentially that the chief had gotten into an incident sometime prior to June 2024 and that he had struck something with his city-owned, department vehicle," Sawyer explained to DeRusha. "And the driver had gotten it fixed, 'off the books' at a mechanic, and no one knew about it. There were never any criminal charges. There was never any report about it. So that's something that the driver allegedly told the whistleblower and was contained in this document."

Those incidents remain unverified, but Madel says his client just wants to tell the truth.

Madel also said that what is known, and the story in the Star Tribune, is just one-tenth of what his client has told him.

"I know that what is chief among his concerns is just the retaliation," Madel adds about the whistleblower complaint. "He just wants to do his job. And, you know, if the retaliation continues, sure, then I'm going to encourage him that we have to do this to expose this. And he has to protect himself at some point."

Madel adds they have had no conversations about a financial settlement, adding his client simply wants to do his job. Madel said he is representing him for free.