Judge orders Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to comply with police staffing level mandate
A judge has ordered Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to comply with a mandate in the Minneapolis City Charter that requires him to employ a minimum number of police officers for the community, according to court documents filed Thursday.
The Upper Midwest Law Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of two Minneapolis taxpayers and two people who own property in the city in March that claimed the city, including Frey, had failed to hire enough police officers. The petition points back to a 2022 decision by the state supreme court.
That decision upheld part of a district court ruling finding that the "mayor has a clear legal duty under the Minneapolis City Charter to employ at least 731 sworn police officers".
According the a court order, the lawsuit demonstrates that Frey has "violated and continues to violate his duty" in the section of the charter regarding the employment of police officers in the city.
The court documents filed Thursday said the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training counted 649 officers with the Minneapolis Police Department, which is 82 less than 731.
Frey must comply with the mandate by Jan. 4, 2027, the court document said. If he does not, a trial will be held on April 26, 2027, "or on a date that is mutually agreeable to the parties" where he could be found in contempt.
The number of police officers in Minneapolis went down after 2020, and by the spring of 2024, former Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the department had lost 40% of its force.
"This is an important step toward restoring accountability for Minneapolis residents," Doug Seaton, president of the Upper Midwest Law Center, said in a written statement.
WCCO reached out to the mayor's office about Thursday's order. His press secretary said Frey would not be doing media on the topic and referred WCCO to a spokesperson for the Minneapolis Office of Community Safety, who said:
"There are few police departments working harder to recruit and hire officers than MPD. We've brought on more than 150 officers since the beginning of 2025, applications are up more than 200% since 2023, and we've built the most diverse police force in Minneapolis history. You don't strengthen a police department through lawsuits. You do it through recruitment, hiring, and retention. That's exactly what we're doing, and it's working."
