Newark Deputy Mayor Picked To Be Next Minneapolis Police Chief: Report

MINNEAPOLIS — Mayor Jacob Frey wants Brian O'Hara — the deputy mayor of Newark, New Jersey — to be the next Minneapolis Police Chief, according to multiple media reports.

Frey nominated O'Hara, 43, for the role and will make a formal announcement on Thursday, according to the Star Tribune. The Minneapolis City Council will need to approve the appointment.

KARE 11 has a similar report.

Previously, O'Hara served on the Newark police force for 20 years before he was promoted to be the city's public safety director.

O'Hara has been praised for successfully reforming the Newark Police Department after a U.S. Justice Department investigation found that officers used excessive force disproportionately against minorities.

Newark's police officers did not fire a single round at any point during 2020, while O'Hara was director.

Here's the bio that Frey's office provided for O'Hara:

Brian O’Hara currently serves as the Deputy Mayor of the City of Newark (NJ). In 2001, Deputy Mayor O’Hara joined the Newark Police Department as a police officer, rising through the ranks to become a captain in 2016. In 2021, he was appointed as the Public Safety Director for Newark overseeing more than 1,960 employees, comprising 996 sworn police officers, 611 firefighters, and 346 civilian employees, and a budget that exceeded $200 million. In that role, Deputy Mayor O’Hara enhanced the collaborative working relationships among federal, state, and local partners, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Newark Police Department, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Jersey State Police, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security & Preparedness, and numerous other state and local agencies and police departments.

A national search for the next Minneapolis police chief began in March when Frey hired Public Sector Search & Consulting Inc. (PSSC) to oversee the process. Frey also formed a local search committee to work with PSSC to find candidates.