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Crime, Law and Justice
Jon Collins

MPD chief announces 'significant changes' with the naming of two new assistant chiefs

Police officers speak to the press
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara speaks at a press conference on Monday.
Jon Collins | MPR News

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Calling it one of the most significant changes to the Minneapolis Police Department in the modern era, Chief Brian O’Hara announced the appointees who will shepherd through his planned reorganization of the department. 

O’Hara said his aim is to focus on the department’s role in reducing crime, building trust with residents and restoring pride in those who wear the Minneapolis Police Department patch. 

“Minneapolis was ground zero for a global reckoning on policing practices and racial justice,” O’Hara said. “It’s clear to me that Minneapolis can be the model, in fact, Minneapolis must be the model for how we move forward through healing of shared trauma, coming up with innovative solutions hand-in-hand with our residents and police officers and, above all, keeping people safe.” 

O’Hara announced plans earlier this year to split the department into two parts. He announced Monday that one assistant chief, 23-year Minneapolis police veteran Katie Blackwell, will oversee daily operations, including patrols and investigations. 

Another longtime Minneapolis police officer, Christopher Gaiters, will oversee community trust, which includes internal affairs and the bureau responsible for implementing changes required by both the state court-enforced agreement and an expected federal consent decree. 

O’Hara said it became obvious after his appointment last year that the Minneapolis Police Department had structural issues that needed to be changed. That required a change in state law, which limited the number of upper-level supervisors in the Minneapolis Police Department.  

“We do not have to sacrifice officer accountability, or innovative or meaningful community engagement, in order to keep [residents] safe,” O’Hara said. “In fact, the presence of this accountability and community engagement is central to our ability to keep our residents safe.” 

O'Hara said Minneapolis has a structure where sergeants investigate crimes, as opposed to other departments where sergeants are managers. He said that’s something that could be addressed by city leadership in negotiations over the city’s agreement with the police union. 

New Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell is a 23-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department and one of the highest ranking women in the Minnesota Army National Guard. A native of northeast Minneapolis, she’d like to see the department bring in more recruits from inside the city.  

“Every officer is a recruit out there,” Blackwell said. “This is a time when we never needed the community more than now, especially on patrol. We really appreciate their ideas, and what they’re telling us.” 

Another Minneapolis native, Assistant Chief Christopher Gaiters, said the chief brought fresh ideas from the East Coast that the department now needs to put into action.

“Oftentimes in my 30 years in this department, I hear a lot of talk and have heard a lot of talk, but it’s not as often that we see things come to fruition,” Gaiters said. “It’s extremely important that we do that, I know the expectation of the community is that we do that, and we will do that — and by doing that we will instill trust in the community.” 

O’Hara also appointed 28-year veteran Jon Kingsbury to serve as deputy chief of patrol, Jason Case as deputy chief of operations, Travis Glampe to serve as the deputy chief of constitutional policing and DeChristopher Granger as deputy chief of internal affairs.

O’Hara said previously that the changes won’t add any full-time employees to the department. 

The Minneapolis Police Department will be hosting a variety of community meetings starting in mid-August to collect input from city residents on potential changes to the department.