MINNEAPOLIS — A judge ordered Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to hire more city police officers, CBS News reported.
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The order centered on a lawsuit filed by the Upper Midwest Law Center on behalf of two city taxpayers and two people who own property in the city, which claimed that the city and Frey failed to hire enough officers. That allegation stems from a 2022 decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court, which found that the mayor has a “clear legal duty under the Minneapolis City Charter to employ at least 731 sworn police officers.”
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The city currently has 649 officers, CBS News reported.
The court’s order states that Frey has “violated and continues to violate his duty” with regard to that portion of the city charter. Frey is required to comply with the mandate by Jan. 4, 2027, or a trial will be held next April where he could be held in contempt.
The city exceeded the required officer minimum in 2020, but lost 40% of the force in the four years that followed, former police chief Brian O’Hara said.
“For the first time in four years, a judge said there will be consequences for the City of Minneapolis if it continues to violate the law,” Rachel Paulose, managing attorney for the Upper Midwest Law Center in the case, told CBS News.
A spokesperson for the city’s Office of Community Safety highlighted the police department’s recent recruiting successes.
“There are few police departments working harder to recruit and hire officers than MPD,” the office told CBS. “We’ve brought on more than 150 officers since the beginning of 2025, applications are up more than 200% since 2023, and we’ve built the most diverse police force in Minneapolis history. You don’t strengthen a police department through lawsuits. You do it through recruitment, hiring, and retention. That’s exactly what we’re doing, and it’s working.”
In 2024, the department raised starting salaries to $90,000 with incremental increases in the past two years.
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