Minneapolis police officer fired after alerting brother he was involved in shooting investigation
A Minneapolis police officer exchanged messages with her brother for hours while on duty, then sent him a police bulletin seeking to identify a shooting suspect who was later confirmed to be him, according to a newly released disciplinary decision.
Chanica Hall was discharged in April, and official reports say she may have tipped off her brother about a possible police investigation into him. Then-Police Chief Brian O'Hara said she "put the legitimacy and reputation of the department at risk."
Phone records show Hall and her brother exchanged messages for hours while she was on duty. He texted, "You got me worried sis," and later pressed her repeatedly for information: "I need to know ASAP. You got me worried." Hall replied: "should be." "Wow. sis for real?" he wrote.
At nearly 2 a.m., Hall began a FaceTime call with him that lasted more than an hour. During the call, minutes after her shift ended, she texted him the bulletin.
The bulletin was an "attempt to identify" notice about a suspect in a September 2025 shooting. She used her personal phone to send him a photo of the bulletin.
Hall stated during the investigation the person described as the shooter "resembled" her brother, but she didn't know if it was him. She would later admit to sending the bulletin to her brother, but maintained she didn't know it wasn't for the public to see, adding "my intent in my head was, honest to God, to tell him to turn himself in if he's doing something."
O'Hara rejected that explanation, writing that her claims were "not credible on their face."
Police say she did not contact department investigators, adding they believe her actions delayed identifying the suspect. It was later confirmed the suspect was in fact her brother. He was arrested about seven weeks after the bulletin went out.
The department also alleges Hall didn't even list her brother in the "family information" section of a pre-employment background packet. She then signed the packet saying that everything in it was true and complete. Investigators noted he had previous criminal convictions.
A review panel and O'Hara investigated five allegations against Hall, according to official documents on the department's Discipline Decision Dashboard. Those allegations include neglect of duty and violations of the department's code of conduct.
Hall was also under investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for possible criminal charges, but the Hennepin County Attorney's Office ultimately declined to charge her.
Rachel Moran, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, said the evidence supports the department's decision. "What's clear is that she did commit policy violations, and several of them," Moran said.
Whether Hall committed a crime is less clear cut, Moran said. She said the department noted that prosecutors didn't think there was enough evidence to move forward but concluded Hall had committed crimes anyway.
O'Hara resigned weeks after Hall's discharge, after Mayor Jacob Frey said an investigation found he interfered with an earlier probe into allegations that he "engaged in sexual intimate relationships" with city employees. Investigators concluded those underlying allegations were not substantiated.
