A closer look at Brian O'Hara, Minneapolis' top candidate for police chief
MINNEAPOLIS – We are learning more about the man who could become the next Minneapolis police chief.
Brian O'Hara is the 43-year-old deputy mayor of Newark, New Jersey. WCCO looked into his track record, as he is poised to lead a department under deep scrutiny.
As of late, the Minneapolis landscape is marked by crime and mistrust. It's similar to the scene that unfolded a thousand miles away, just outside of New York City.
"Newark, unfortunately for many years, was a very corrupt police department," said University of St. Thomas Law Professor Rachel Moran.
An expert in police accountability, Moran has been researching and studying the Newark Police Department for years. It's the city where O'Hara became a police officer in 2001. She said the prospective chief is a "fascinating" choice for chief of Minneapolis.
She says, like Minneapolis, the Newark's department was known for discrimination in traffic stops and using excessive force.
But Newark's reputation has changed. Under O'Hara's leadership, Newark started a street team approach where local citizens, many who've had a brush with the law, intercede.
Our sister station in New York followed along.
"Our folks in the community know both the perpetrator and the victim, and so we're able to go in and have a conversation," said Aqeela Sherrills of the Newark Community Street Team.
O'Hara said in 2021 of the program, "They come to the scene, often while we're still there, to try and cool things down. They have folks that have credibility in the community."
In 2001, there were 3,968 violent crimes a year (murder, rape, assault, robbery). In 2020, as O'Hara rose in leadership, that number was less than half at 1,492.
"He is someone with experience that would be hard to find anywhere else," Moran said. "But I also think there are people who will skeptical of this choice because he is someone who essentially grew up professionally in a really problematic police department."
A public hearing about O'Hara's nomination is expected in the coming weeks. The full city council could approve him next month.