Opinion: Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara is getting a bum rap over Lake Street raid

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A June 28 front-page article (“Frey’s challengers slam chief over federal raid”) reports that the aspiring mayoral candidates want at least an explanation, if not a pound of flesh, from Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, because of his and the Police Department’s response to the chaotic federal drug warrant served on June 3 at W. Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue S. This is strictly a political posture, and there really is no “there” there.

It has been repeatedly reported that the MPD had no prior notice of the raid and was not involved with the execution of the warrant. Further, despite the either tone-deaf or intentional use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, this was not an immigration action. The MPD was called in only after the situation deteriorated and the feds failed to communicate with the community.

City Council Member Jason Chavez believes the MPD should have had no involvement in crowd control even after the event became hostile. I would ask him this: If the situation had been allowed to deteriorate further and we had another Third Precinct swath of destruction, would he continue to believe the MPD had no duty to keep the peace?

This was certainly a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t situation for the chief. That often goes with the territory, which I know firsthand.

On an August early evening in 2002, then-Chief of Police Robert Olson was out of town and I was the acting chief. The MPD conducted a high-risk drug warrant at a North Side house that was gang affiliated. As the officers approached, a dog charged them. An officer fired his weapon, which missed the dog, but a fragment struck an 11-year-old boy in the arm.

A rumor tore through the community that the young man had been killed. Violence erupted, and I was notified. I responded from a community meeting elsewhere in the city. By the time I arrived, two Star Tribune reporters had been assaulted, one was still missing, and a KARE-11 SUV had been torched. Officers in riot gear had formed a skirmish line and were being taunted by angry young men.

I was approached by Spike Moss, an icon to many and long unashamedly militant on behalf of Black people. Spike asked me to back the officers off and he would get the angry young men off the street and into their houses. I told Spike I was willing to do that, but not until we located the missing reporter, who shortly thereafter was located getting treatment at North Memorial Hospital.

With that, I directed the officers to stand down and back off. This was a visibly unpopular action in the eyes of the officers and their supervisors. Moss came through and got the angry young men off the street. The Fourth Precinct inspector, Tim Dolan (who later would be chief), was located. He also had a relationship with Moss. Dolan stayed on duty the entire night to monitor the situation, which remained calm. It could have been the wrong decision, but a decision was needed.

So here I think are a couple of related lessons to the Bloomington and Lake federal drug raid.

Some thought I was a fool to work with Moss. But I trusted him and thought it was worth the risk to minimize the chances for more violence.

In my opinion, a high-ranking person in federal leadership should have been on scene at their June 3 raid, should have identified himself or herself and should have worked directly with an angry community to dispel misinformation and try to keep the peace.

Well, it doesn’t appear that happened. The feds aren’t really known for their willingness to consider how their actions are going to impact a community. That falls to the local authorities, like the MPD, who are the peacekeepers of last resort. Unlike the MPD, the feds won’t be there tomorrow — they will be up and gone. Sometimes the locals must clean up someone else’s mess.

Like our North Side drug raid of long ago, the federal drug raid turned out better than it might have. In this case the mayhem was limited, there was no property damage and no one, police or civilian, was seriously injured. It is hard to get credit for what didn’t happen. I have no doubt Chief O’Hara knew he took a risk by being present. Nevertheless, I believe he is clear about the oath he took to protect and serve everyone here in Minneapolis.

Gregory Hestness, of Minneapolis, is retired. He was chief of the University of Minnesota Police Department and deputy chief of the Minneapolis Police Department.