Minneapolis, MN
MPD: Surge in hiring experienced officers, slowly rebuilding force to fulfill city charter

The Minneapolis Police Department is seeing a surge in the number of experienced officers joining the force.
The need for more officers in Minneapolis is drastic, losing hundreds following the murder of George Floyd — the fewer officers has led to longer 911 response times, officer burnout, to less focus on investigations with investigators needing to be on patrol.
But progress to rebuild is being made — the department reports gaining 38 officers last year, including 22 “lateral hires,” which are officers that join from a different agency. That nearly two dozen is more than four times the number the year before.
MPD lateral hires, according to MPD.
- 2016-2020: 0
- 2021: 3
- 2022: 8
- 2023: 5
- 2024: 22
- 2025: 3 (as of March 27)
“I was looking for some different leadership,” Heather Starry, who joined MPD as a lateral hire from a metro police department in 2024, said. “It’s been nothing but positive here, and I think that really builds morale.”
For patrol officer Liban Ibrahim, who also joined in 2024 from the Metro Transit Police Department, it was the police chief that drew him to Minneapolis.
“I saw the changes that [were] happening here after Chief O’Hara got here,” Ibrahim said.
And William Nkata, joining from another metro department, also wanted to be part of the change.
“Even after everything that the city went through, I felt like was still a good city. There still is good in the city,” Nkata added.
The frequency in lateral hires happening around the state is somewhat new for the industry, according to Jim Mortenson, who is with one of the state’s largest unions — the Law Enforcement Labor Services, which doesn’t represent MPD officers.
“Sometimes chasing it because it’s leadership issues, sometimes chasing it for geography issues, sometimes chasing it for financial issues,” Mortenson said of lateral hires.
He adds, though, that it’s not a long-term solution for a statewide issue.
“We’re currently a little over 1,000 officers down in the state,” Mortenson said. “We’ve got too many people that are no longer in this profession, and we don’t have enough people coming into the profession.”
Minneapolis needs to build their force back up for many reasons, including to fulfill the city charter, which requires 731 officers — the department says they’re 148 short, as of this March.
MPD also says there are nearly 60 Community Service Officers and Cadets working to become officers — those two avenues take longer to hit the streets compared to lateral hires.

Minneapolis, MN
Man fatally shoots his toddler daughter and then himself in Minneapolis home, police say

A man fatally shot his 2-year-old daughter and then himself in a Minneapolis home overnight, officials said Monday.
Minneapolis police said officers went to the home in the 2900 block of Colfax Avenue N. about 12:20 a.m. Monday and found the man and his daughter dead from gunshot wounds.
The girl’s mother was in the home and not physically harmed, police said.
“This is an unimaginable, heartbreaking tragedy,” read a statement from Police Chief Brian O’Hara. “Our hearts are with the child’s mother as she faces an overwhelming loss, and with the officers and investigators who responded to such a devastating scene.”
Officials haven’t released the identities of the father or the girl.
There have been 24 homicides in Minneapolis this year, according to a Minnesota Star Tribune database. That compares to 33 at this time last year.
Minneapolis, MN
Minnesota weather: Breezy and cooler temperatures to start off this week

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A cool and breezy start to this week with dry and warm conditions Tuesday and Wednesday in Minnesota.
Sunday, Monday forecast
What to expect:
Temperatures will stay in the 60s for most of the state Sunday and Monday with only a select few reaching the 70 degree mark Sunday.
Showers look likely up north throughout the day with the rest of the state dealing with a breeze. Smoke from wildfires in Canada is back in the area Sunday, leading to air quality alerts for the whole state.
The haze will likely stick around through Monday. Temperatures stay cool with a northwest breeze for Monday. Watch for a few showers in western Wisconsin and a few north of Interstate 94 as well.
The rest of the week outlook
What’s next:
Pleasant, sunny, and warmer temperatures are back for Tuesday and Wednesday. Both days look to feature high temperatures reaching close to or even above 80 degrees.
A warm front approaches Wednesday night and sets up a frontal boundary for the rest of the work week in southern Minnesota. This will lead to a few chances of showers and thunderstorms from Wednesday night through Friday.
Here is your seven-day forecast:

Minneapolis, MN
Banks: Can we keep the peace in Minneapolis?
Context: Sanctuary city policies are motivated in part by the understanding that the federal government has its own immigration enforcement capabilities and does not need permission or cooperation to perform them. Such policies also are motivated by the notion that immigration enforcement is — perhaps depending on the administration, or perhaps inherently — unjust. It cannot be seen as a net positive for society’s governing divisions to subvert one another’s missions. In any case, Minneapolis police are responsible for keeping the peace in the city.
Fact: Those at the scene and others in the aftermath criticized the militarized nature of the operation. The use of masks by some of the law enforcement agents was a particular trigger.
Context: We’re seeing more of that masking — not just helmets and shields, but concealments — especially among federal agents. It diminishes accountability and enhances the intimidation factor, whether on purpose or not. Todd Lyons, the acting ICE director, belittled that concern when he said “is that the issue here, that we’re just upset about the masks? Or is anyone upset about the fact that ICE officers’ families were labeled terrorists?”
Those in law enforcement have hard jobs. We ask them to deal with the worst elements of society, but also to be better than those elements at all times. We demand this professionalism regardless of circumstance, regardless of political culture and regardless of their own psychological wounds. These are reasonable expectations. They’re necessary for the consent of the governed.
Fact: Some officials criticized the excess of the raid. O’Hara and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called it tone-deaf. Frey said community members had “understandable fear. I had the same concern myself.” On Thursday, the Minneapolis City Council ordered a review of the city’s involvement.
Context: All well and good, especially the review, but this is an election year in Minneapolis, and questions of public safety and justice are again where battle lines are being drawn, even though there are other matters, including the evolution of the tax base, that are equally important to the city’s future. Obviously, law enforcement raids like Tuesday’s won’t be announced in advance. Current federal policies will only add to instability. I don’t think the mayor is caught off-guard by the community reactions, but if he wants a sensible public safety milieu to prevail in November, he needs to be seen as not running behind.
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