St. Paul releases full report of sexual harassment investigation into Mayor Kaohly Her
Heavily detailed, but also heavily redacted to conceal identities, the full report of the human resources investigation into sexual harassment allegations against St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her was made public Thursday.
The 73-page report paints a picture of a crumbling work relationship with Police Chief Axel Henry and an uncomfortable work environment of Her's own making. However, investigators found she did not sexually harass any city employees. Henry filed the initial complaint in March that led to the investigation.
The report allows readers to hear Her's side of the story along with ten witness interviews. City councilors were demanding the full report to be released for transparency.
Weeks earlier, Her's office released a two-page summary of the report that outlined which of the seven allegations were substantiated, but it offered little explanation on how the attorneys made their decisions. The law firm Resolute Law LLC conducted the investigation and wrote the report.
Council member Molly Coleman had been vocal about the report being released. After reading it Thursday, she said it confirmed Her "engaged in absolutely inexcusable workplace conduct and that there is not at present a functional relationship between the Mayor and the Police Department."
Coleman added that situation is "not tenable" and that Her must show a path forward, otherwise "every option needs to be on the table."
Her told investigators that her relationship with the police department started off positive. She believed she had become friends with Henry. That started to change after she said they argued about the police department's response to Operation Metro Surge
"Mayor Her stated that the relationship has been on a continual downhill spiral since then," according to the report.
One of the allegations against Her is that she touched Henry's leg twice during a budget meeting. One witness told investigators they saw it happen and that the incident was uncomfortable.
In the witness interview that mirrors Henry's lawsuit, the witness said Her put her hand "approximately 40%" up the leg the first time, then "approximately 60%" up the leg the second time. Her told investigators she might have touched his leg but that it wasn't sexual in nature.
One of the allegations that was substantiated affirms Her created and shared inappropriate photographs.
It was in reference to a picture in which she photoshopped police officer faces onto shirtless bodybuilders, then posted the pictures around the police department.
"Had a male mayor photoshopped female police officers in such minimal amount of clothing, there would be no question about the inappropriateness of the behavior," the report says.
Henry's attorney, Chris Madel, called Her "delusional" in a statement after reading the report. He went on to say that council members "must call for this mayor's immediate resignation. If they don't, they condone sexual harassment. It's pretty simple."
