By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey intends to nominate Interim Police Chief Bill Peterson, a 30-year department veteran, to lead the Minneapolis Police Department permanently, according to four people briefed on the decision.
- Frey called the four internal finalists Thursday night to inform them of his choice, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
- The nomination requires City Council approval.
- Peterson became interim chief after Chief Brian O’Hara resigned in May amid findings that he interfered in an ongoing sexual misconduct investigation; Peterson said then he did not plan to seek the permanent job.
- Five council members sent Frey a letter last week urging him to choose an external candidate, saying the department has shown resistance to reform.
MINNEAPOLIS — Mayor Jacob Frey intends to nominate Interim Chief Bill Peterson, a 30-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department, to lead the agency permanently, according to four people briefed on the decision, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
Frey informed each of the four internal finalists by phone Thursday night after a final round of interviews. The finalists were Peterson, Assistant Chief Mark Klukow, and Deputy Chiefs Charlie Adams and Jon Kingsbury. The appointment requires City Council approval.
Peterson was named interim chief after O’Hara resigned in May. At the time, he said he was not planning to be a candidate for the permanent job, citing the demands of the role and constant public scrutiny. Sometime last month he reversed course, telling his command staff and the three remaining internal candidates that he had been asked to apply and had done so. An MPD spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on what changed his mind.
The city hired California-based Public Sector Search & Consulting to recruit candidates in a national search. Nineteen officers applied, six from within the department. According to two people familiar with the process, all external candidates withdrew before the final interviews this fall, for reasons that are unclear. The job posting, open until filled, listed a salary range of $289,941 to $340,938. People with knowledge of the two interview panels said there was no clear consensus among panelists, and members were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements.
Last week, Council President Elliott Payne and council members Robin Wonsley, Aisha Chughtai, Jason Chavez and Soren Stevenson wrote to Frey asking him to nominate an outside candidate, arguing that promoting from within is not appropriate given what they described as entrenched dysfunction in the department. Public comments gathered at hearings this summer were mixed on whether to hire from outside.
If confirmed, Peterson will lead a department operating under a court-ordered settlement agreement with the state to implement police reforms, and will be expected to address record overtime spending, a budget shortfall, staffing and morale. Before becoming interim chief in June, he served as First Precinct inspector, overseeing downtown policing since 2019. He helped manage the department’s response to events including the 2007 Interstate 35W bridge collapse, the 2020 unrest following George Floyd’s murder, and Super Bowl LII, and received a Medal of Valor for his response to the 2012 Accent Signage shooting. City records show at least eight complaints against him between 1999 and 2021, all closed without discipline; two more filed since 2023 remain open.