Saying that Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau's handling of turmoil in the city "has made her a leadership role model," Fortune magazine on Thursday ranked her No. 22 on its annual list of the "World's 50 Greatest Leaders."
"Over the past 18 months, Harteau has endured the kinds of challenges that every chief dreads," the national business magazine said in releasing its fourth-annual ranking Thursday. "Growing tension with the police union. A spike in overall crime rates. And most challenging of all: the fatal shooting by police of an African-American man, Jamar Clark, under dubious circumstances that prompted an 18-day protest organized by Black Lives Matter."
The magazine went on to say that she "weathered these woes with the steadiness that has made her a leadership role model. A 30-year veteran and the city's first female and first gay police chief, Harteau is the mind behind MPD 2.0, a drive to build trust in the community by putting more cops on the beat. Civic leaders credit her for dismissing cops for misconduct.
"The officers involved in the Clark shooting were not indicted, but local prosecutors are rethinking the use of secret grand juries in police-involved killings — a victory for the transparency that both Harteau and protesters favor. And Minneapolis was one of the few major U.S. cities to report a significant decline in homicides in 2016."
In a statement, Harteau said she feels honored and "frankly" finds it "hard to believe, that my name was placed on a list with so many people who have done such important work."
"This honor really belongs to every member of the MPD team," she said. "They have embraced MPD 2.0 alongside many of our community leaders, which has allowed us to help lead the national discussion on 21st century and community policing."
Fortune's praise for Harteau comes just three days after the release of a federal report that concluded that a rift between her and Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges led to a communication breakdown that prevented the city's response to a weekslong occupation of the Fourth Precinct following Clark's November 2015 death.
The report, released by the U.S. Department of Justice's COPS Office, said Hodges, City Council members and other political figures undermined Harteau's authority and that their disagreements caused confusion and frustration in police ranks, resulting in unauthorized uses of force and even some officer insubordination.
