Minneapolis mayor and police chief plan to meet soon, say they'll work together

Officials in the mayor's office said they plan to work Monday morning to set up a face-to-face meeting between Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges and police Chief Janee Harteau.

In the days following Hodges' rejection of Harteau's choice to lead the 4th Precinct, the two have aired their respective sides of the story through the media and press releases.

Hodges spoke to MPR News Sunday defending her decision to rescind Lt. John Delmonico's promotion to the top job in the 4th Precinct. And she claimed Harteau waited to notify her about this particular personnel move because she knew it was controversial.

"She and I have regular check-in meetings in person," said Hodges. "Nothing prevented the chief from telling me in advance and in person. And I made it clear that I expected her to provide me advance notice. And she chose not to."

Harteau chose not to respond to a request by MPR News to address the mayor's claim. Instead, the chief sent a statement Sunday saying she will not comment further because she doesn't want the situation played out in public anymore. Last week, she told the Star Tribune that she announced the promotion after she thought the mayor signed off on it.

This is not the first time communication breakdowns between the two leaders have been discussed in public.

A U.S. Department of Justice assessment of the city's response to the nearly three weeks of protests in the 4th Precinct in 2015 noted tensions between the two. The authors of the report said the relationship between the mayor and chief was "strained." It concluded those tensions contributed to inconsistent directions given to police personnel.

This latest difference again centers on the 4th Precinct. It includes some of the city's most racially diverse neighborhoods. The precinct also regularly leads others in the number of violent crimes including homicides.

Hodges has made it clear she doesn't think Delmonico is right to lead it. He's the former head of the Minneapolis police union.

She said Delmonico is well qualified to hold a leadership position, but not in this precinct.

"There are folks in the 4th Precinct who all they know about him is that he was a central figure in 'Pointergate' and that in itself would have a negative impact on building community trust," said Hodges.

The Pointergate incident occurred in 2014 when Hodges posed in a photo with an African-American man as they pointed fingers at each other. A local news story quoted Delmonico and other police sources saying the mayor and the man were making gang signs.

Delmonico, a 29-year veteran of the department, sat down for an interview on KARE 11 on Friday. He said he was hurt by the mayor's decision to rescind his promotion.

"Probably the biggest reason, is it's hard not to take some of it personal," said Delmonico.

The current head of the police union, Lt. Bob Kroll, has said Hodges' decision undercuts Harteau's authority.

Hodges is running for re-election this fall. But she said her decision was not an attempt to gain favor with voters who are critical of the Police Department. Hodges said her move was meant to help reach a goal both she and the chief have been working towards.

"The chief and I — as I said — have worked together on a whole host of issues," said Hodges. "Making sure that we're building community trust. And I want to come back to the core issue. The whole city is affected if public safety is diminished by damaging the work we're doing to build trust between police and the community."

Harteau's statement also mentioned that she intends to remain focused on public safety. And as far as her public dust-up with the mayor, Harteau added, "I do believe the mayor and I will work together to find a viable solution."