Months After Complaints, Mendota Heights Police Chief Resigns
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Mendota Heights Police Chief suddenly resigned this week, months after people complained about the firing of a longtime sergeant.
Mike Aschenbrener had been chief since 2003.
The city council accepted his resignation at its Tuesday meeting.
The council then appointed Captain Kelly McCarthy as the new chief. McCarthy joined the force last month.
Aschenbrener's last day as chief will be Dec. 20.
At a meeting back in June, a crowd of people criticized the city for firing Sgt. Robert Lambert. The Pioneer Press reported that crowd included Mendota Heights' mayor-elect Neil Garlock.
Lambert said he was under investigation for an outside complaint involving mistakes he made while investigating a drug overdose death.
He was asked to resign but refused.
Lambert claims he was fired in retaliation for demanding in 2012 that another police officer be investigated for wrongdoing.