Mayor Jacob Frey on MPD Chief Brian O’Hara’s Resignation: ‘What I Can’t Allow Is a Breach of Trust’

EXCERPT:

FREY: “This is not about being intolerant of mistakes. 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. And when trust is broken, it becomes extremely difficult to continue leading effectively. The MPD has worked hard to rebuild credibility and trust with the community and within its own ranks. Our staff and residents need to know that they can trust not just the department, but also the person leading it. While the right decision was clear, it was not made lightly. Chief O'Hara has served this city through extraordinarily difficult moments in Minneapolis history, including the shooting at Annunciation and Operation Metro Surge. Under his leadership, we made real progress from reform efforts to rebuilding the department to bringing in new officers and strengthening public safety across the city. In many respects, he's been successful in his responsibilities as chief and I'm grateful for his work. But my responsibility is first and foremost to the people of Minneapolis and to maintaining confidence in the institutions that serve them. That responsibility must come first. I know many people will have questions. And so in the interest of transparency, public data related to this matter will be released upon submission of a data request consistent with state law.”