Minneapolis Police Chief resigns in wake of Justine Damond shooting

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Janee Harteau, the Minneapolis Police Chief, has resigned as criticism of her response to several high profile shootings has grown.

Her resignation followed the request of Mayor Betsy Hodges who has had public feuds with the police chief. According to Hodges, she lost confidence in Harteau.

“As far as we have come, I’ve lost confidence in the chief’s ability to lead us further — and from the many conversations I’ve had with people around our city, especially this week, it is clear that she has lost the confidence of the people of Minneapolis as well,” Hodges wrote.

“For us to continue to transform policing — and community trust in policing — we need new leadership at [Minneapolis Police Department],” she went on.

Hodges had scheduled a press conference on Friday night in order to nominate Medaria Arradondo as new chief but it the meeting quickly devolved into shouts for Hodges to resign. Protesters chanted, “bye, bye, Betsy” and “this is our house.”

— Officer who fatally shot woman identified as Mohamed Noor — 

One man could be seen wearing a Philando Castile hat. Castile was shot to death during a traffic stop last year. The cop was later acquitted in his death.

The resignation of Harteau comes on the heels of the latest police shooting in which Justine Damond, an Australian bride-to-be was shot and killed by police. She was killed after calling the police about a possible sexual assault near her home.

In her resignation letter, Harteau wrote, “The recent incidents do not reflect the training and procedures we’ve developed as a department. Despite the [department’s] many accomplishments under my leadership over these years and my love for the city, I have to put the communities we serve first.

“The city of Minneapolis deserves the very best.”

Harteau didn’t publicly address the shooting until five days after the fact. On Thursday she said, “Justine didn’t have to die. Based on the [Bureau of Criminal Apprehension] information, this should not have happened. We’re talking about the actions of one individual.”

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