After the murder of George Floyd, the Minneapolis Police Department lost hundreds of officers and was a “depleted police department,” a statement from former Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara’s attorney said. 

The chief “made significant progress in rebuilding community trust and pride within the ranks of MPD,” the statement reads.

At the memorial to Alex Pretti, who was killed during Operation Metro Surge, part of the attorney statement hits home. It says the city was constantly on the “precipice of igniting the spark that would set the city on fire again” and it claims O’Hara helped mitigate the violent clashes.

Most people WCCO spoke with around several Minneapolis neighborhoods say O’Hara had their respect.

“I was watching the Twins game on my phone and the announcement came over and I was like, ‘Whoa, what’s that all about?’” said Marta Knick as she was heading to the Guthrie Theatre.

“I was very sad because we’re more than the sum of our mistakes,” said Minneapolis resident Howard Dotson.

Hours after the announcement, community members were eager to learn more about the one challenged with leading the most scrutinized police department in the country.

“What’s heartbreaking the most is he was in a high-level position of leaderhip and he dropped the ball,” said Michael Wilson, who works at Pimento Jamaican Kitchen.

Some are giving grace more than others.

“He may have made a mistake but that doesn’t erase his four years of transformational work in the MPD,” Dotson added.

O’Hara joined the department in November 2022, two-and-a-half years after the murder of Floyd.

“You have to reestablish culture. I feel like he did an amazing job at that and was front-facing, which is good,” said Wilson.

That wasn’t the chief’s only challenge. Just within the past year, he responded to the Annunciation Catholic School shooting and Operation Metro Surge.

“I was pleased with the whole way he handled the Metro Surge thing,” said Ruth Lipker on the Stone Arch Bridge.

In the statement from his attorney, O’Hara says he was “proud to serve Minneapolis and remains grateful to the officers and community partners who did difficult work under extraordinary pressure.”

“Yeah, he was invested in his job and the community. but he had personal investments in that job as well,” said Minneapolis resident Donald Turner.

Now, Minneapolis residents are looking ahead.

“We have change, again, and because we have change, I think we’re in the place to create a positive outlook or negative outlook,” Wilson told WCCO.

“I always have hope for the city. The city’s bigger than any of us and I love living here,” another man added while walking the Stone Arch Bridge.

In the recent statement from his attorney, there was zero comment on the investigation that occurred. Those WCCO spoke to continued to have questions about that.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The search for the next Minneapolis police chief will soon get underway, but the city’s divided political climate could make the process challenging.

City leaders optimistic ahead of search for next chief

What we know:

At a news conference on Tuesday night announcing Brian O’Hara’s resignation as police chief, Mayor Jacob Frey said, “We’ll recruit a top-notch talent.”

City Council Member Michael Rainville is also optimistic.

“The force is coming back, recruitment is great, the morale is high,” he said. “We’re very – for someone that’s [an] up-and-comer, we’re a very attractive candidacy to be a chief of police.”

But it is not an easy job. The Minneapolis Police Department has faced myriad challenges over the last several years, often grabbing national headlines. It dealt with the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a police officer, a Justice Department report on rampant civil rights violations and ongoing staffing issues.

In addition, the city council has routinely clashed with the mayor, especially on law enforcement matters.

This year, the council twice rejected the mayor’s reappointment of Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette, who oversees the police department. And even before his abrupt departure, some council members expressed concerns about O’Hara’s leadership.

What they’re saying:

“I think that Minneapolis is attractive to candidates who want big city experience,” said FOX 9 political analyst Blois Olson.

Olson does not expect any problems finding candidates and noted the mayor’s influence in the process.

“I don’t think you can try to make all 13 members happy, but you have to get to six or seven members that are happy and then convince the council that the mayor is the mayor, he won the election, and he gets to appoint who he gets to appoint,” he said.

What’s next:

It is unclear when the search for the next police chief will begin.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis City Council leaders are poised to give their reaction to the resignation of Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Minneapolis Police Chief resigns

The backstory:

Now-former chief O’Hara resigned suddenly on Tuesday following the release of a shocking report that showed he had likely interfered with an investigation into him carrying on sexual relationships with city employees.

The new report found that O’Hara had deleted a contact card for one of the employees in question on his city-issued phone to apparently “shield himself” during the investigation. Investigators also say O’Hara failed to abide by instructions to maintain confidentiality during the investigation because he alerted another city employee about the case.

It should be noted that investigators were never able to substantiate the initial sex allegations against O’Hara and the parties involved all denied engaging in any relationship. However, investigators were never able to fully examine O’Hara’s personal phone.

Local perspective:

When the latest report was issued on Tuesday, Mayor Frey notified the chief he would reprimand the chief with punishment rising to the level of discharge. The chief opted to resign instead.

Mayor Jacob Frey announced O’Hara’s departure at a Tuesday evening press conference.

The surprising departure comes less than three weeks after Frey nominated O’Hara for a second term as police chief.

Big picture view:

O’Hara had overseen a remarkable turnaround for the Minneapolis Police Department, leading the force out of the pandemic and through post-George Floyd reforms.

He also took over the department when the city was dealing with staggering highs in crime not seen since the 1990s. During his reign, homicides saw a 33-percent drop from the pandemic high in 2021, and shootings in north Minneapolis for the start of 2026 were at an all-time low.

What’s next:

Following O’Hara’s departure, Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell has been named interim police chief.

City council reaction

What we know:

Minneapolis city council leaders have scheduled a news conference for Wednesday afternoon to discuss the sudden departure.

Council President Elliott Payne and Council Members Robin Wonsley and Jason Chavez are slated to speak at 1:30 p.m.

You can watch that news conference on the player above and on our YouTube channel.

Dig deeper:

O’Hara’s nomination faced opposition on the council, with several members critical of his response to two controversial cases: the shooting of Davis Moturi by his neighbor and the death of Allison Lussier.

An audit earlier this year found the former chief had made harmful public statements during both of those cases.

At the same time, the council is also battling with the mayor over the nomination of Public Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette. For Barnette, the council has raised an issue with the department’s overspending in 2025.

Currently, Barnette’s nomination remains locked in limbo after the council denied it and the mayor has vetoed their denial. That has left Barnette serving as commissioner on an interim basis until one side budges. The council has until early August to make a decision, otherwise Barnette would be removed as commissioner. But Frey could just reappoint him, which would start the whole process over again.