For ads-free news, click here.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara is calling out what he describes as the city’s “bizarre” and unrealistic political culture in the years since the death of George Floyd.
In an interview, O’Hara said city leaders often promote ideas that don’t align with the realities faced by law enforcement. He noted a major disconnect between what political activists demand and what officers experience on the streets, warning that these divisions have made Minneapolis less safe. O’Hara, who came to Minneapolis from Newark, New Jersey, said he was surprised by how much power activist groups hold over local politics.
“Here it’s very, very ideological and a lot of times it’s like reality and facts can’t get through the filter. It’s a very detached, bourgeois liberal mentality… It’s bizarre,” he told The Post. “There has been an unbelievable amount of trauma here from the destruction of the city that immediately followed (Floyd’s death) and the explosion of violence that came.”
He added that police officers often feel abandoned by political leaders who are more concerned with ideological narratives than public safety. This, he said, has created an environment where recruiting and retaining police officers is extremely difficult.
The aftermath of George Floyd’s death in 2020 brought national attention to Minneapolis, but also widespread unrest. Riots damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and created lasting economic and psychological scars in many neighborhoods. O’Hara believes the Black Lives Matter movement, while initially focused on reform, ultimately contributed to policies and sentiments that weakened the city. “Minneapolis is still recovering from the riots,” he said, adding that the damage done was not just physical, but also institutional.
While the city council moved quickly in 2020 to pledge defunding the police, many of those efforts have since been reversed or softened. O’Hara said some reforms were necessary but warned against knee-jerk decisions made to appease political pressure.
“As the chief has said previously, policing in the city has become overly politicized, making it difficult to even discuss the need for effective and adequately resourced police without it being viewed through a rigid ideological lens,” Sgt. Garrett Parten, an MPD spokesperson, told Fox News Digital. “That’s the disconnect — not with residents — but with political narratives that overshadow the real and urgent safety concerns residents are living with every day.”
Despite the challenges, O’Hara said he remains hopeful that Minneapolis can regain stability and rebuild trust between its residents and law enforcement. He’s working to reshape the department while acknowledging past mistakes. Still, he cautioned that progress will be slow unless city leaders are willing to confront uncomfortable truths.
The Dennis Michael Lynch Podcast archive is available below. Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the show by downloading The DML News App or go to Apple Podcasts.
