Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis Police Chief’s Public Statements on Domestic Violence Cases Under Scrutiny After City Auditor Report
City Auditor Finds MPD Failed Allison Lussier and Recommends Formal Apology as Second Review Opens Into Davis Moturi Case
By Clint Combs | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder
A Minneapolis city auditor after-action review found MPD made serious missteps in the Allison Lussier domestic violence case, including never requesting the medical examiner’s report, and recommended a formal written apology to her family for Chief O’Hara’s public misstatements, as a second review opens into the Davis Moturi shooting.
Before Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara knew the full weight of what the city auditor would eventually find, he was talking too fast.
In February 2025, O’Hara told the Star Tribune that investigators could not establish that Allison Lussier had been murdered. “We cannot prove that this is a murder,” O’Hara said. “The fact that he had a history of domestic abuse does not create probable cause.”
The City Auditor’s After-Action Review revealed that the MPD never actually requested the medical examiner’s report until the auditors themselves asked for it while reviewing the case.
O’Hara went further. “Someone dead and decomposed with needles everywhere is not a sign that a crime occurred,” O’Hara said, adding that Lussier had sustained no other known injuries, like a fractured skull.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner found that Lussier’s primary cause of death was a subdural hematoma, a collection of blood between the skull and the brain.
A crowd of domestic violence advocates and MPD staff attend the Minneapolis Audit Committee meeting to hear the long-delayed report.
Chief O’Hara’s words, spoken publicly and on record, are at the center of an auditor report that found MPD made several missteps in investigating domestic violence cases. The report recommended that MPD be formally required to issue a written apology to the Lussier family for public misstatements related to the medical examiner’s findings. By the time City Auditor Robert Timmerman gave his report to the Minneapolis committee and City Council members, O’Hara’s tone had finally shifted. “Jen again, I apologize. I’m sorry. We are committed to moving forward together,” O’Hara told Jana Williams, Lussier’s aunt. “I’m thankful again to Jana, to other community members that she invited that were present with us, advocates for their willingness to have conversation with us and to move forward and try and improve things for the future.”
Williams was not mollified.
The audit arrives as MPD faces intense scrutiny over a second high-profile failure. Davis Moturi, a Black Minneapolis man, reported 19 incidents of vandalism, property damage, harassment and threats in the year he had lived next door to his white neighbor, John Herbert Sawchak, many of them laced with racial slurs. Despite those repeated calls for help, Moturi was shot in the neck while pruning a tree in his own yard. The Moturi case prompted a second after-action review by the City Council.
The audits reveal that four officers auditors had hoped to interview were never reached. Three were on extended leaves of absence. One had left the department entirely. City Auditor Timmerman confirmed that when his office reached out to that departing officer, they received a single response: “I’m not going to participate.”
Council Member Aisha Chughtai noted that, to her understanding, the officer who separated from the department did so about one month after O’Hara issued a directive requiring officers to cooperate with auditors. Timmerman said he did not remember the exact date but confirmed his office had attempted contact and been refused.
The audit was further hampered by a jurisdictional wall. Timmerman’s office lacks authority to access Hennepin County Medical Examiner records, meaning auditors could not independently verify the contents of the medical examiner’s report on Lussier’s death.
“Public comments by MPD regarding violence against Native women are heavily scrutinized and should be held to a high standard,” Timmerman said. “We recommend that MPD be required to issue a letter or other statement to the family of Miss Lussier apologizing for public misstatements related to the medical examiner’s findings and report.”
Williams addressed the findings after the presentation. She named Sgt. Michael Heyer as the officer she believed had retired before speaking to auditors, and said Lussier’s lead homicide detective was the one who refused to participate. Timmerman would not confirm the identity or role of the officer who had separated from the department.
“You failed. Allison Lussier’s case you failed. Arionna Buckanaga case, you failed. You failed so many cases prior to this,” Williams said. “Hopefully we start hearing exactly what the gravity of today meant.”
Jana Williams speaks to reporters after City Auditor Robert Timmerman revealed systemic missteps in MPD investigations into the deaths of Allison Lussier and Davis Moturi.
The audit reported that officers and lieutenants inside MPD expressed low morale over public disagreements between Chief O’Hara and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. Timmerman said that Moriarty made proactive efforts to communicate with top brass at MPD. Williams said that investigations into her niece were caught in what she described as a “cat-and-mouse game” between O’Hara and Moriarty. “Allison Lussier didn’t deserve this. Nobody deserved this today,” Williams said.
When Chughtai asked the chief’s office whether regular meetings between the chief and the county attorney were taking place, she was told no.
MPD and the HCAO stressed that their branches still maintain working relationships across many departments.
To prevent future audits from hitting the same walls, Timmerman said his office is pursuing subpoena authority from the state legislature, seeking powers parallel to those held by the state auditor and the legislative auditor. Council Member Soren Stevenson flagged that the next police contract negotiation should also address barriers from a collective bargaining agreement that currently prevents civilian investigators from holding supervisory roles.
Vanya Hogen, an attorney with Hogen Adams, detailed the internal pushback that stalled the reports.
“We did face a few limitations, such as early resistance from several MPD officers who requested the involvement of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis,” Hogen said. She noted this “disrupted the anticipated timeline” of the entire review process.
Williams was surprised that the auditor did not secure an interview from the medical examiner.
“You think that the city would have had some more recourse to push them to give an interview or at least a statement,” Williams said. “At least a statement, especially when you’ve got the chief of police blaming the medical examiner for calling off the crime scene.”
O’Hara said the Lussier homicide investigation remains open.
Minneapolis Launches Summer Safety Plan With Operation Safe Summer, New Shooting Unit and Expanded Community Outreach
The City of Minneapolis has announced a coordinated Summer Safety Plan outlining how its community safety network will work together through the summer, led by Operation Safe Summer, the new Firearm Assault Shoot Team, expanded Community Safety Ambassadors and public safety coordination for major events including Pride, Taste of Minnesota and WWE SummerSlam.
The City of Minneapolis has announced a coordinated Summer Safety Plan outlining how the city’s community safety network will work together throughout the summer to prevent violence, respond to emergencies, and keep residents and visitors safe during one of the city’s busiest seasons.
Operation Safe Summer
The plan kicks off with Operation Safe Summer, a multi-agency enforcement initiative led by the Minneapolis Police Department now in its fifth year. Running June 1 through 6, the operation targets individuals known to regularly engage in violent crime and has historically resulted in dozens of arrests, the recovery of numerous firearms, and significant seizures of illegal narcotics.
Partner agencies include the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota State Patrol, Metro Transit Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Plymouth Police Department.
Prevention and Community at the Center
Beyond enforcement, the city’s summer safety strategy prioritizes prevention and community engagement, covering violence prevention, emergency preparedness, youth engagement, and water and weather safety education through expanded community outreach.
The plan also includes public safety coordination for major summer events including Pride, Taste of Minnesota, Aquatennial, the U.S. Special Olympics, WWE SummerSlam, and Open Streets events across the city.
June is also Gun Violence Awareness Month, and the city is spotlighting coordinated efforts to reduce firearm violence through enforcement, public messaging, safe gun storage education, and community-based intervention programs. New this summer is the Firearm Assault Shoot Team, along with continued work from the Violent Crime Apprehension Team and weekend Curfew Task Force operations.
Officers not normally assigned to patrol will participate in bike, foot, and mounted patrols on weekends throughout the summer in neighborhoods with the greatest need, adding 30 more officers to the street without increased overtime costs.
Progress the City Is Pointing To
The city cited several data points reflecting recent progress on public safety. According to the city’s Crime Dashboard, three-year averages for most violent crimes are down more than 20 percent, with carjackings down nearly 40 percent. Shots-fired calls are less than half what they were five years ago, and non-fatal shootings have dropped 56 percent, from 582 in 2021 to 255 in 2025.
“We are making meaningful progress,” the city said in a statement. “But one crime is one too many.”
Safety Beyond Policing
The Neighborhood Safety Department will expand visibility and outreach through its Community Safety Ambassadors, MinneapolUS violence interruption teams, and community-based partnerships. Updated service maps and community outreach zones expand the department’s coverage areas this summer.
The Minneapolis Fire Department is enhancing water-rescue readiness with specialized boats positioned throughout the city and training in swift-water rescue operations, while also preparing public education campaigns on life jacket use, fireworks safety, grilling safety, and heat-related illness prevention.
The Emergency Management Department is coordinating severe weather preparedness messaging, and the Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center is increasing staffing during high-demand summer months and major events.
For more information on summer safety events, tips, and resources, visit the City of Minneapolis website and follow official city social media channels throughout the summer.
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Minneapolis has brought in an outside consultant in hopes of improving relations between the city council and mayor’s office.
A $1.4 million contract for “leadership development” and “executive coaching” with Madison, Wisconsin-based Darcy Luoma Coaching & Consulting began in October and is in effect through September 2028, with the option for up to two additional years.
City Clerk Casey Carl initiated the contract in September, and the City Council approved it by a unanimous vote.
Carl said his office brought the proposal to the council with an eye toward the first full four-year term of the mayor and City Council under the new “strong mayor” structure of governance. Darcy Luoma will focus on establishing strategy, norms and collaboration for council members and the mayor’s administration.
In addition to quarterly group sessions with all 13 council members, the mayor and cabinet members, the contract also involves one-on-one sessions and onboarding training for new council members.
While Carl said bringing in outside consultants on leadership strategy is a “very common tool” for city governments, he acknowledged that the contract is “in part a response to what we’ve seen in the previous term,” a reference to the often acrimonious relationship between Mayor Jacob Frey and the City Council.
The mayor and council members frequently traded barbs over political disagreements, but perhaps the most extreme example came in August, when City Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai cursed Frey on stage at an Uptown music festival. Frey, for his part, has accused council members of engaging in “vote trading and political gamesmanship.”
Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said the first session was on its second day when a federal immigration agent shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis.
A second session recently took place, to positive reviews.
“I do see that there are differences and that people are trying, and it’s a matter of just, yeah, making an effort, and if we make mistakes, try to learn from those mistakes,” Chowdhury said.
Jamison Whiting, a newcomer to the City Council, said being on the inside opened his eyes to why this sort of coaching is necessary.
“This city knows about the toxicity and lack of civility that has happened at City Hall, and so it’s something I have been looking forward to, and it went well,” Whiting said. “Engaging in those conversations, open and honest conversations where we are allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and actively move forward for the City of Minneapolis.”
So far, Whiting said the sessions have produced some norms that guide how officials interact with each other: no personal attacks, communicate in private before having open conflict at the dais, and hold each other accountable.
Frey was not available for an interview on Friday, but in a statement, he expressed his hope that the sessions would lead to more productive governance.
“Minneapolis works best when the people elected to lead it can work through disagreements respectfully and get things done,” Frey said. “We don’t have to agree on everything, but residents expect us to solve problems, not create more of them. If better communication helps us deliver safer streets, more housing, and better city services, that’s a worthwhile investment.”
Chowdhury was confident her constituents would find the $1.4 million price tag to be a wise expenditure.
“I have only heard from residents that they want us to work our stuff out,” Chowdhury said. “… They don’t like seeing city council members fight over personal things. They don’t like seeing the high level of polarity between the council and the mayor, especially if it isn’t about the issues at hand.”
She said the work will be ongoing to find a sustainable path forward.
“To figure out what skills we need to sort out conflict without a third party, that’s the goal,” she said.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has reached out to Darcy Luomo for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Minneapolis leaders will meet again for a coaching session in late July.
“I think that is how we build shared trust as a body that will hopefully move through the next four years,” said Whiting. “And if that comes at a cost, I think we better make sure we’re putting in the effort and time and trust to actually do that for our constituents.”
Minneapolis, MN
Limited ministry to continue amid changes at St. Boniface in Minneapolis – Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Source: The Catholic Spirit
Effective July 1, parishioners of St. Boniface in Minneapolis will continue to attend Mass and receive sacraments at the church, even as parish assets are transferred to another owner.
The St. Boniface parish corporation will be suppressed and all parish assets, such as the church building and land, will be transferred to the nearby St. Maron of the Maronite Catholic Church in Minneapolis — a parish that celebrates liturgies in the Maronite Rite, which has its roots in Lebanon. The Maronite Church is Catholic and in union with the Holy Father; it operates under its own set of laws and liturgical rubrics.
St. Maron will continue to provide limited sacramental ministry to St. Boniface parishioners for at least one year and beyond that time if it continues to be possible to maintain and safely use the church. The priests of St. Maron parish have bi-ritual faculties allowing them to offer Mass and the sacraments in the Latin and Maronite Catholic rites.
Read the full story in The Catholic Spirit.
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