Minneapolis’ police chief resigned Tuesday rather than face disciplinary action for tampering with an investigation focused on his alleged sexual relationships with other city employees, Mayor Jacob Frey announced.
Mr. Frey said Chief Brian O’Hara scrubbed a contact from his government-issued phone and tipped off another government employee about the probe into his suspected romantic flings.
Investigative documents said that while neither action meant Chief O’Hara carried on the affairs, his interference with the probe violated rules against misconduct.
Mr. Frey said he informed Chief O’Hara he would face discipline for the tampering that could result in his being fired. Chief O’Hara chose to resign instead.
“It was an extremely painful decision, obviously, but I concluded that that was necessary to maintain public trust, and this was the right way to move forward as a city,” Mr. Frey said.
The mayor tapped Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell to run the department while the city searches for a permanent replacement.
Chief O’Hara took charge of the department in 2022, two years after Minneapolis gained national notoriety when George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a White police officer, Derek Chauvin.
Minneapolis police had an agreement with the Department of Justice to revise their use-of-force policies in light of Floyd’s murder, but the Trump administration canceled the agreement last year.
Chief O’Hara also criticized the tactics used by federal agents during their immigration crackdown over the winter.
