Minneapolis Police Department splits bureaus

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council has unanimously approved police chief Brian O’Hara’s plan to split the police department into two bureaus, each with its own assistant chief.

The chief is taking one-half of the department to oversee police operations and crime, while the other half would oversee efforts to rebuild community trust.

At a press conference O’Hara said that the “change today is historic and I am excited to be able to roll this out.”

This past June, the DOJ and the city agreed to negotiate toward a court-enforceable consent decree with an independent monitor.

O’Hara says he plans to hire both assistant chief positions from within the MPD.

“Everything that our residents have been through as well as our officers have been through over the last three years, I’m looking for people who have deep connections to our community, that understand the resiliency of our officers, that understand the real desire for progress and change,” he said. “I will be finalizing those candidates in the coming days.”

Community listening sessions will also begin in the next two weeks, which is a requirement of the settlement agreement.