Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara Resigns After Investigation Finds He Interfered With Probe Into His Own Conduct
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced Tuesday that Police Chief Brian O'Hara had resigned after an investigation found he had deleted a contact from his city-issued phone to shield evidence from investigators probing allegations of intimate relationships with city employees, with Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell stepping in as acting chief while a permanent search begins.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara resigned Tuesday, May 26, 2026, after an investigation found he had interfered with a probe into his own conduct, Mayor Jacob Frey announced at an evening news conference.
O’Hara, who became chief in November 2022 and was hired specifically to oversee reforms in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, chose to resign rather than face disciplinary action that Frey said could have included dismissal.
What the Investigation Found
The resignation stems from an anonymous complaint that O’Hara had engaged in intimate relationships with city employees. While those sexual misconduct allegations were never substantiated, investigators found that O’Hara had intentionally interfered with the investigation itself. According to Mayor Frey, O’Hara deleted a contact from his city-issued cellphone during the original investigation in an attempt to shield evidence of his connection to that person from investigators.
“This is not about being intolerant of mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, including me,” Frey said at the news conference. “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. And when trust is broken, it becomes extremely difficult to continue leading effectively.”
A Timeline of Complications
The resignation comes just weeks after Frey renominated O’Hara for another four-year term on May 7, saying at the time that he was “the right leader for this moment.” The Minneapolis City Council had not indicated support for the reappointment. Frey acknowledged Tuesday that if he had known about the investigation findings earlier, he would not have made the nomination. “We did not know then what we do know now,” he said.
The city confirmed that 17 additional open complaints against O’Hara remain separate from the investigation that triggered disciplinary action and will continue to be investigated.
What Comes Next
Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell has stepped in as acting chief while the city conducts a search for O’Hara’s permanent replacement.
O’Hara came to Minneapolis from Newark, New Jersey, where he served as a police officer, public safety director, and deputy mayor before taking the chief position. He succeeded Medaria Arradondo, who was chief when George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020.
For a community that has spent years demanding accountability, transparency, and reform from the Minneapolis Police Department, the circumstances surrounding O’Hara’s departure raise serious questions about the leadership the department has had and what must come next.