Eddie Frizell looks on as Chief Janeé Harteau addresses the media. / ELIZABETH FLORES UPDATE: Chief Harteau responded to suit on the department's Facebook page:
ORIGINAL POST: Former Minneapolis police deputy chief Eddie Frizell has sued Chief Janeé Harteau alleging that he was stripped of his command for running for Hennepin County sheriff.
In a suit filed in the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis Wednesday, Frizell sued Harteau and the city for "loss of reputation, humiliation, embarrassment, inconvenience (and) mental and emotional anguish," according to the complaint. Frizell says he has been demoted to lieutenant, his last civil service rank, and reassigned to the Domestic Assault Unit.
The suit seeks monetary damages and the reinstatement of Frizell's command.
Frizell claims he was demoted without explanation on his first day back from a six-month leave of absence to challenge incumbent Sheriff Rich Stanek.
In his absence, command of the patrol division was returned to the control of the assistant chief, an arrangement that provided "more synergy and continuity," said Harteau, who has made no secret of her intention to revamp the department's management.
A police spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Wednesday.
Frizell was initially offered the rank of commander of operations and administration, which would have put him in charge of recruitment and hiring, but Harteau pulled the offer after he was quoted in the Star Tribune as saying that he was "dismayed" with the move, the suit alleges.
