Minneapolis City Council OKs two new deputy police chief positions

Minneapolis is adding two new senior police positions as part of Chief Brian O'Hara's plan to reshape the department in a post-George Floyd era.

The new deputy chief positions were unanimously approved Thursday by the City Council, and are among the final steps as O'Hara seeks to reorganize the department in an attempt to reckon with a checkered history around policing of non-white residents.

That broader goal of reform will be overseen by court-approved monitors connected to an agreement this spring with the state Department of Human Rights and an anticipated agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, known as a consent decree.

Both agreements sprang from probes of the department after Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.

Announcements on O'Hara's picks for the new positions could come as soon as next week.

One of the new deputy chiefs will oversee two new bureaus O'Hara is creating: the Bureau of Internal Affairs and the Bureau of Constitutional Policing, both of which are intended to focus not on police operations but on officer conduct and rebuilding of community trust, the chief has said. The Constitutional Policing deputy chief will oversee implementation of the settlement and consent decree.

A change in state law this year that affords local police more control over structuring their departments allowed for the new leadership positions and bureaus.

The two new deputy chief positions will join three existing deputy chiefs and two assistant chiefs, as well as a newly fashioned chief of staff, approved by the council earlier this year.

The new deputy chief positions will have an annual salary range of between $153,524 and $181,995. When benefits and other costs are factored in, city officials have estimated annual total costs this year for all five deputy chief positions at $1,154,700.