History shows that promoting from within works best for the Minneapolis Police Department. City Hall shouldn’t gamble on an outsider when the solution is already right here.
The local government of Minneapolis is one of those rare entities that somehow fails to learn from its mistakes and also fails to learn from its successes. After what can only be described as a complete botching of the renewal of the most recent police chief’s tenure, it was announced that the city will begin another nationwide search for a replacement. Meanwhile, there is an interim chief, promoted from within our own ranks, who already has the complete faith and trust of every officer in the department—someone with decades of knowledge and experience devoted solely to this city. Rather than take advantage of that head start, we’d prefer to start over with someone no one knows, no one yet trusts, and who couldn’t possibly have any clear idea what they’re getting into.
Our most popular and, arguably, most successful police chief was Medaria Arradondo. Even today, his approval rating is higher than that of almost any local politician. He was promoted from within and brought all of the advantages that go along with that process. He was the chief before, during, and after the city’s most difficult public safety dilemma. Despite being the boss through the worst moments of our department’s history, he is still well-liked by the public and highly regarded by current and former officers. Now, 100% of my sources on the department tell me that Bill Peterson is trusted, honorable, and unanimously respected by his subordinates. Comments such as “We couldn’t ask for a better chief” and “I would follow Chief Peterson into hell” accurately describe the consensus attitude about the interim choice.
Anyone who has been a part of a team recognizes the difference between going through the motions of following orders because you understand the hierarchy of rank and actually having faith in your leader. If given the choice, we would all choose the latter. When a department is completely rotten from the root to the leaf, you have no other option but to go outside to find new blood to turn things around. When we already have a veteran presence prepared and able to step up, that should always be our first choice. Our most recent history would tell us that promoting from within has worked out better than pulling in someone from 2,000 miles away.
It’s hard for any outsider to confirm how much of the search is in earnest or how much is window dressing. Frankly, I’d be extremely wary of any qualified applicant who wanted to become the newest police chief of Minneapolis. It’s hardly a desirable position, and the tasks ahead are truly daunting. To be certain, the motivation for a job like this, at this time, would have to come from something other than simple career advancement. A candidate would have to be personally dedicated to the city, the public, and the men and women of the department. Knowing all this, are we really going to find a better choice than Bill Peterson? And if not, why are we wasting our time and money looking?
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/search-for-permanent-minneapolis-police-chief-has-not-started-yet-commissioner-says/
Chief Hodges has said 100% he doesn’t want the job.
I agree w OP, and think it’s great to promote from within. I also agree w Zubby 1992 that I had read that Peterson doesn’t want the job. He would make a terrific chief. I also agree that Hodges would make a great MPD chief.
But I just wanted to address the idea that most successful police chief was Medaria Arradondo. I have a very favorable view of him as a person, but the first word that comes to mind is hesitant as a chief. It’s nothing I can put my finger on–just hesitant. And how do we evaluate success of a chief?
The most payouts by the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) occurred between 2010 and 2020. During this period, 71 Minnesota governments collectively paid over $60 million to settle various incidents of police misconduct, with Minneapolis being a significant contributor to this total. Medaria Arradondo served as the Minneapolis Police Chief from 2017 until his retirement in January 2022. Looking at the Officer payout Dashboard on the Minneapolis City website, 2019 and 2021 were the biggest payouts. Then there was the More than 150 Minneapolis police officers who have filed disability claims, primarily citing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This has resulted in substantial financial payouts, totaling around $26 million. This led to a very understaffed MPD, and causing slower response times and ignoring lower level crime.
One can’t blame one person for the problems that stemmed from the murder of George Floyd. But I can’t help but remember other MPD Chiefs favorably. Chiefs like Tony Bouza, Tim Dolan, William McManus, and Janee Harteau. I still not have seen enough evidence to say that Brian O’Hara should have left. Looking at the Officer Payout Dashboard, He started in 2023 and the 2024, 2025 payouts were substantially lower than the previous 5 years. He also did a great job of hiring more officers and greatly diversified the force.
I’m not saying that One chief is responsible for all happenings on their watch. That’s not reasonable. There are a lot of variables that come into play when considering success. I just think we’ve been pretty fortunate in Minneapolis to have had a series of successful Chiefs.
I thought Peterson made clear, in his own words, that he did NOT want the job of Chief, and that he just stepped in to help out. He explained his reasoning, but maybe he changed his mind ?!
Statements made by Commissioner Barnette, who almost has both feet out the door too ( thanks to our very anti police/ hate a mayor, near majority on the council), has more than suggested that internal applicants may be the way to go, as he indicated that they would have “a leg up” in the selection process, IF they applied.
This is such a tough, near impossible job, particularly with the 6-7 current council members taking actions regularly which highlight the fact that they would rather there be NO police dept in Mpls, and certainly not one that is uniformed and armed. Because of their alignment with the DSA, we know that this faction on the Council would hold this same position in ANY city that they landed.
Because we do not know, especially because of how fast all of this has played out, we can’t know yet what qualified applicants will come from OUR Mpls employee pool. For that reason, it seems to make sense to cast a larger net….just in case the Mpls candidate pool is lean.
Just as an example, and while I too would prefer that the next police chief comes out of the MPD, I could also, maybe, make the case for a local person, say like a Booker…who I have a lot of respect for.
“Dr. Booker Hodges is the Police Chief of the Bloomington, Minnesota Police Department. He was sworn into the role in April 2022, bringing extensive law enforcement and community relations experience to the department.
Chief Hodges’ Background & Experience
Prior to taking the helm in Bloomington, Chief Hodges’ career spanned multiple roles and agencies, including serving as the Assistant Commissioner of Law Enforcement for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. ”
Regardless though, for such an important job, probably the most consequential, right behind mayor, I like the idea of COMPARING from a broad range of candidates, from within and without. Then once a decision is made, it would hold the weightedness of ” no stone left unturned ” in this important, yet speedy process