Minneapolis police chief Janee Harteau says she is “willing to step aside to let a fresh set of leadership eyes” be in charge of the department, which has been criticised in the wake of last weekend’s fatal police shooting of an unarmed Australian woman who had called 911.
“For us to continue to transform policing and community trust in policing we need new leadership at MPD,” Ms. Mayor Besty Hodges said.
The chief, who once successfully filed a discrimination and sexual harassment complaint against the police force along with her partner, said she must “put the communities we serve first” despite the department’s accomplishments under her leadership.
The state is investigating the shooting. In her first remarks on the case on Thursday when she returned to work, Ms. Harteau defended the training of Mohamed Noor, the Somali-American officer who shot Justine Damond, but was sharply critical of him.
Still, some City Council members called for a change in leadership.
Linea Palmisano, who represents the ward where Damond died, told fellow council members that she was “done with image control and crisis management” and that it’s “time for action.” After Ms. Harteau’s resignation, Ms. Palmisano said she looks forward to the start of changes that she feels the department needs to make.
Shortly after the announcement, Ms. Hodges nominated Assistant Chief Medaria Arradondo to be the next chief. Nicknamed “Rondo,” he served as the department’s public face after Damond’s shooting while Ms. Harteau was out of town. Mr. Arradondo, who is African-American, has been with the department since 1989.
Later on Friday, Ms. Hodges called a news conference at City Hall to elaborate on Ms. Harteau’s departure, but she was interrupted by a few dozen protesters who entered the room and demanded that she resign, too. They chanted “Bye-bye Betsy” while waving signs that said “Messy Betsy” and “You are next.” Ms. Hodges eventually walked out as they surrounded her at the podium, but she returned later to take questions from reporters.
She said she understands and shares the public’s frustrations, but “I will not be resigning.”
Their relationship was strained, particularly after the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark during a confrontation with two white police officers in 2015. The black man’s death, amid heightened tensions around the U.S., sparked protests citywide that included an 18-day occupation outside the police station on the city’s north side. A U.S. Department of Justice review faulted poor communications between the Mayor and chief.
And it didn’t help that Ms. Harteau was out of town when Damond was killed. Ms. Harteau, who said she was backpacking in an area with limited cellphone reception, told reporters on Thursday that it would have been “challenging” to return but that she had kept in touch with her command staff.
Police union president Bob Kroll said Ms. Harteau’s resignation is a much-needed change for the department and that she handled Damond’s shooting poorly. He said after being gone for days, she returned and “basically throws the whole department under the bus.”
The Mayor rejected that notion, saying she made the decision because she’s making the city a priority.
The chief was honoured as grand marshal of the city’s annual Pride Parade three years ago. But in June, organisers asked law enforcement to minimize their participation due to tensions over a suburban Minneapolis police officer’s recent acquittal in last summer’s fatal shooting of black motorist Philando Castile.
A timeline of the July 15 fatal shooting of Justine Damond:
11.27 p.m.: Justine Damond calls 911 to report hearing sounds of distress from a girl or woman behind her house. She says it may be a rape. A dispatcher says officers should arrive soon.
11.35 p.m.: Damond calls 911 again to ask why police haven’t arrived yet. She gives the dispatcher address again.
11.41 p.m.: Officers Matthew Harrity and Mohamed Noor arrive and drive south down the alley behind Damond’s house. Harrity, who is driving, is startled by a loud noise near his squad car. Damond approaches the driver’s side window immediately afterward, and Noor fires his gun past Harrity, striking Damond through that window of the vehicle, according to Harrity in an interview with state investigators.
11.42 p.m.: Radio report of one person down, starting CPR.
11.50 p.m.: Radio report of police doing CPR for “last four minutes.”
11.51 p.m.: Damond is pronounced dead in the alley at the south end of her block. A medical examiner later says Damond was shot once in the abdomen.
