Minneapolis Police Chief O'Hara announces "unprecedented" reorganization of department, new leadership roles
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara held a press conference Monday afternoon regarding a major restructuring of the department.
At the press conference, O'Hara said MPD will be split into two divisions: Operations and Community Trust. He called the reorganization "unprecedented," and that it addresses "abundant and immediate gaps" in his department.
O'Hara announced leadership roles along with the new structure, including two assistant chiefs and five deputy chiefs. The chief also appointed two new inspectors to fill openings created by the restructuring.
"Today is a historic day for the Minneapolis Police Department," O'Hara said. "With the change in state law, and with the support of our mayor and city council, we are able to bring the MPD in line with best practices among other similarly situated major cities, particularly those facing court-mandated reforms. I am confident with the appointments I am announcing today that we will have the right people in the right positions to move the MPD out of the darkness and trauma of the last three years, and into a brighter future together."
The appointments include:
- Assistant Chief of Operations Katie Blackwell
- Assistant Chief of Community Trust Christopher Gaiters
- Deputy Chief of Patrol Jon Kingsbury
- Deputy Chief of Investigations Jason Case
- Deputy Chief of Constitutional Policing Travis Glampe
- Deputy Chief of Internal Affairs DeChristopher Granger
- Deputy Chief of Professional Standards Mark Montgomery
- 2nd Precinct Inspector Nick Torborg
- 5th Precinct Inspector Christie Nelson
"This increases the amount of people available on the executive level to provide accountability, and that's absolutely necessary," O'Hara said. "I have found the structure here for supervisors is very heavy on the bottom."
O'Hara says this is a common setup in other large police departments, particularly ones under consent decrees.
Christopher Gaiters, the new assistant chief of community trust, says his focus will be on listening to people, including to their ideas for holding officers accountable.
"I think it's extremely important that the decisions and the outcomes within internal affairs is the expectation of the community," Gaiters said.
O'Hara says the city's residents should "have their fingerprints on our policies, our training, our practices."
The police officers' union responded to the changes with the statement:
The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis understands the importance of a strong leadership team. Our hope is the leadership changes made by the Chief today will help put the Minneapolis Police Department on a successful path moving forward in improving morale within MPD, navigating the mandated consent decrees, and rebuilding trust in the communities. We look forward to working with the new leadership team.
MPD is hosting its first community listening session next Tuesday, Aug. 15. It invites residents to give feedback and learn how its settlement agreement with the state Human Rights Department will work.
Last month, a Hennepin County judge approved a settlement agreement between the city of Minneapolis and the state's Department of Human Rights. In a report issued last year, the department found the city and its police department engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination for at least a decade.
The agreement calls for de-escalation whenever possible, limits on the use of tear gas and other chemical agents and an end to police stops for broken taillights and searches based on the smell of marijuana. The settlement also governs the use of body-worn and dashboard cameras; officer wellness; and response to mental health and behavioral crises. An independent evaluator must be appointed to monitor compliance.
In June, the U.S. Department of Justice released the findings of its own two-year investigation, which also found the city and MPD have engaged in practices that deprive residents -- specifically those who are Black or Native American -- of their rights. The DOJ recommended a long list of changes, including improving use-of-force policies and enhancing force-related accountability mechanisms.
