Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara resigned from his position after an investigation discovered he interfered with the investigation process by intentionally deleting a contact card from his city-issued cell phone to shield evidence of connections to an individual from investigators probing alleged sexual relationships with city employees.
Mayor Jacob Frey announced O'Hara's resignation Tuesday, explaining that an anonymous complaint received last year alleged the chief engaged in sexually intimate relationships with city employees. An outside investigation was conducted with extensive interviews, though that investigation concluded the allegations were not substantiated, Frey said.
"Chief O'Hara interfered with the investigation process. Specifically, investigators found that he intentionally deleted a contact card for an individual from his city-issued cell phone during the original investigation in an attempt to shield that evidence from investigators."
An additional investigation revealed that despite instructions not to discuss the investigation with anyone, O'Hara told another city employee that his city cell phone had been taken for investigation. Though investigators concluded the interference did not change their ultimate conclusion that relationship allegations remained unsubstantiated, the interference itself constituted a breach of trust warranting discipline.
Frey informed O'Hara he would face discipline up to and including discharge, prompting the chief's resignation. Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell will assume O'Hara's position. The city still has seventeen open complaints against O'Hara separate from the investigation resulting in disciplinary action and will continue investigating those matters.
O'Hara led Minneapolis Police during the church shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and during Operation Metro Surge federal immigration crackdown earlier this year. His resignation while still facing seventeen separate complaints reflects an ongoing pattern of accountability issues within city leadership regarding investigative cooperation and transparency.
O'Hara's deletion of cell phone evidence during investigation demonstrates that even police leaders sometimes obstruct justice rather than cooperate with accountability processes. While the sexual relationship allegations remained unsubstantiated, the willful destruction of evidence and disclosure of investigation details constitute serious breaches of trust warranting removal from leadership. Minneapolis residents deserve police leadership committed to transparency and full cooperation with investigations rather than evidence destruction and interference.