Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, who was hired to oversee reforms in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing, chose to resign rather than face disciplinary action for interfering with an investigation into his conduct, Mayor Jacob Frey announced Tuesday.
O’Hara, who led local police during the recent federal immigration crackdown in the city, was under investigation on accusations that he was engaging in intimate relationships with city employees.
While those allegations were never substantiated, Frey said investigators found that O’Hara had interfered with the probe. He is accused of deleting a contact card from his city-issued cell phone in an attempt to shield evidence and telling another city employee about the investigation after he was instructed to keep it quiet, according to a written reprimand obtained by The Associated Press.
The mayor told O’Hara he would be disciplined, which could include his termination. He chose to resign instead, Frey said.
“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,” Frey said.
“Trust is not secondary to the job. It is the job,” he added.
The city still has 17 open complaints against O’Hara — separate from the investigation that resulted in disciplinary action — and will continue investigating, mayor’s office spokesperson Jennifer Lor said. Lor could not comment on the nature of those complaints.
Isn’t it awesome that state authorities that get to enjoy more privileges because they pledged an oath to serve the people get to resign when caught doing something highly illegal and can decide what to do from that point on without fear of criminal prosecution?
I think Minnesota just recently passed a law that says if you resign from your position in law-enforcement during an investigation, you can’t serve as law-enforcement in that state ever again, closing a long-abused loophole that cops would use to hop between departments while avoiding accountability.
The way it should be. Like an MD having their license to practice in that state revoked.
That’s awesome. Sadly, in my own opinion, it doesn’t reach far enough. If you get the privilege of representing the law and get to use your authority over other people, then committing crimes in that position should come with much greater consequences. If you are a trained professional, then your crimes should carry a much greater weight.
Are some laws less illegal?