MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara answered questions for the first time Monday about the controversial hiring of former MPD officer Tyler Timberlake, who joined the force just months after a jury in Virginia acquitted him of misdemeanor assault and battery charges.
At a news conference organized Monday evening, O'Hara acknowledged that he personally approved the hire and attended Timberlake's final job interview in November 2022, which he said occurred on his second day as the new chief of MPD. O'Hara said he was aware that Timberlake had been involved in a "critical incident" in June 2020 while working for Fairfax County Police, but he said he had not seen the body camera video showing Timberlake using a stun gun and hitting La Monta Gladney during a medical call.
"I would not have signed off on that hire," O'Hara said, "if I had witnessed the behavior in that video at that time."
O'Hara said Monday that he was not even aware that Timberlake had been on trial for criminal charges at the time of his hiring. However, after O'Hara left the room at the conclusion of the news conference, Minneapolis City Attorney Kristyn Anderson came back to clarify that O'Hara had spoken incorrectly. Anderson said that O'Hara actually "did not recall" whether Timberlake's trial had come up during the job interview.
Timberlake started working for MPD in January 2023, but news of his hiring did not go public until the Minnesota Reformer broke the story in April. O'Hara said at the time that he was "extremely concerned about what I have just learned pertaining to the hiring of this individual" and ordered an investigation. Timberlake's employment officially ended last week, after about six months.
Following news of Timberlake's separation from MPD, the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis issued a scathing statement against MPD leadership and accused O'Hara of knowing more than he let on. Timberlake himself has alleged that O'Hara has made "factually false" statements about him, and the police union has said that Timberlake should still be employed, given that he was acquitted of all criminal charges.
"Chief O'Hara was in the final interview of Timberlake and was fully aware of his history," the union said. "During his final interview, he was assured by Chief O'Hara he would be okay, if he did good work. This is clearly not the case."
When asked Monday whether he told Timberlake "he would be okay, if he did good work," O'Hara said he didn't remember.
"I don't recall the specifics of this conversation," O'Hara said. "I was meeting literally hundreds of people in my initial days here."
O'Hara vowed to change hiring procedures to prevent officers like Timberlake from advancing through the process. Moving forward, O'Hara said that Internal Affairs would become more involved in reviewing background investigations into prospective candidates.
"There is more that I became aware of after I observed the video that I am not at liberty to disclose. However, I was shocked with what I saw. It is just unbelievable to me that we could have a process in place, where something like that could not be flagged," O'Hara said. "That you could get that far along in the process."
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: