Thirty misconduct complaints have been lodged against Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara in roughly three years on the job, and the pace has picked up fast in recent months. The surge is putting extra heat on police leadership and the city’s oversight system as officials consider how to respond on both personnel and policy.
According to the city’s officer complaint history dashboard, O’Hara has 30 recorded complaints during his tenure, with 22 still listed as open and eight shown as closed without formal discipline. The current figure is about twice what the dashboard showed back in September, according to the site’s timeline view. The rapid climb is raising new questions about how the Office of Community Safety and Internal Affairs handles high-profile allegations that land on their desks.
What the Complaints Allege
Some of the earliest complaints have already spilled into public view. Within O’Hara’s first year, three filings accused him of cursing at an Edina detective, failing to complete a required force report and being untruthful about the hiring of former Virginia officer Tyler Timberlake. Local reporting shows the city brought in an outside law firm to investigate those initial claims, KSTP reported, and the Minnesota Reformer also covered the investigations. Timberlake was later fired amid public backlash over his past conduct and has since filed legal claims connected to his ouster.
Mayor’s Stance and the Nomination Clock
Mayor Jacob Frey has publicly thrown his support behind O’Hara, telling Axios Twin Cities that the chief has his “full support,” but he has not yet taken the formal step of re nominating him. Under the city charter the mayor alone has the power to nominate heads of charter departments, including the police chief, according to a legal analysis from the City of Minneapolis. That setup turns any potential reappointment into both a bureaucratic and political decision as the city moves through the spring and summer calendar.
O’Hara has said he is not told when complaints are filed against him and that “I take my role as chief very seriously,” according to Star Tribune reporting. In the same story, defense attorney T. Anansi Wilson called “the number of complaints against O’Hara” concerning, a sentiment that several police oversight advocates have echoed.
Oversight and Reform Context
Minneapolis is still operating under a court enforceable settlement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and under federal oversight after the U.S. Justice Department found a pattern of excessive force and discriminatory policing. Those agreements put the handling of misconduct complaints squarely inside the city’s formal reform obligations. The Justice Department’s findings and the city’s settlement outline timelines and monitoring requirements for changes to use of force, supervision and public transparency. As a result, both the Office of Community Safety and outside monitors are expected to scrutinize how the department documents, investigates and closes out complaints…