Mayor asks police chief to resign after fatal shooting
Minneapolis police chief Janee Harteau has resigned at the request of the mayor, who said she lost confidence in the chief after last weekend’s fatal police shooting of an unarmed Australian woman who had called 911.
Mayor Betsy Hodges said she asked for the chief’s resignation after assessing where the department needs to go.
Hours later, Hodges was interrupted as she tried to elaborate on Harteau’s departure at a City Hall news conference.
A few dozen protesters entered the room and demanded her resignation, chanting “Bye-bye Betsy” as they waved signs that said “Messy Betsy” and “You are next”.
Hodges eventually walked out as they surrounded her at the podium, but returned later to take questions from reporters.
She said she understands and shares the public’s frustrations, but “will not be resigning”.
Harteau, who worked her way up from the bottom of the department to become the city’s first female, first openly gay and first Native American police chief, said she was proud of the work she accomplished and had been honoured to serve as chief.
But she said the shooting of 40-year-old Justine Damond by one of her officers and other incidents “have caused me to engage in deep reflection”.
Harteau was out of the city on personal time for nearly a week after last Saturday’s shooting of Damond, a life coach and bride-to-be who was killed by an officer responding to her 911 call of a possible rape.
The state is investigating the shooting. In her first remarks on the case when she returned to work, Harteau defended the training of Mohamed Noor, the SomaliAmerican officer who shot Damond, but was sharply critical of him.
Harteau had become a political liability for Hodges. Their relationship was strained, particularly after the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark during a confrontation with two white police officers in 2015.
The black man’s death, amid heightened tensions around the US, sparked protests citywide that included an 18-day occupation outside the police station on the city’s north side.
A US Department of Justice review faulted poor communications between the mayor and chief.
Police union president Bob Kroll said Harteau’s resignation is a muchneeded change for the department and that she handled Damond’s shooting poorly.