Minneapolis City Council rejects Bill Peterson for police chief
The Minneapolis City Council voted 8-5 Thursday to reject Mayor Jacob Frey's nomination of interim Police Chief Bill Peterson to permanently lead the Minneapolis Police Department.
The vote followed months of concerns from community advocates and several council members who argued that promoting a longtime MPD veteran would perpetuate the department's entrenched culture rather than bring the institutional changes needed to rebuild public trust.
Peterson, a 31-year department veteran who became interim chief following Brian O'Hara's resignation in May, defended his experience and commitment to reform during Thursday's council questioning. Frey also urged council members to support the nomination, arguing Peterson was being unfairly judged for problems he did not create.
"It troubles me that interim chief Peterson seems to be presently being held accountable for mistakes that he didn't make," Frey told the council before the vote.
But critics maintained that the central issue was not simply Peterson's individual record. They questioned whether someone who had spent virtually his entire career inside MPD could fundamentally change an organization that has repeatedly struggled with accountability, racial discrimination and financial management.
Community advocates questioned Peterson's record
Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said Peterson's history of complaints and alleged misconduct made him an unsuitable choice to lead a department that remains under a legally binding settlement agreement with the state addressing discriminatory policing.
“The most important job of any leader is to shape the culture of the organization they lead. This is especially true for the Minneapolis Police Department, which is under a legally-binding consent decree after a long history of racially biased policing,” Gross said. “Bill Peterson is steeped in the same old culture that led to the murder of George Floyd. His history of complaints and misconduct make it clear that he is not the leader we need.”
The group cited Peterson's involvement in litigation connected to the disbanded Metro Gang Strike Force, which was shut down in 2009 amid revelations of widespread corruption, theft and civil rights violations. Peterson has denied ever being a member of the task force. During an earlier City Council hearing, he said he may have assisted in executing a high-risk search warrant while working in the department's special operations division.
The organization also raised questions about Peterson's connection to litigation involving the improper use of state driver's license records to access personal information about former law enforcement officer Anne Marie Rasmusson. Peterson was among officers named in the litigation.
City records also show that at least eight misconduct complaints were filed against Peterson between 1999 and 2021. All were closed without discipline, while two additional complaints remained open.
Five council members had urged Frey to look outside MPD
In a Sept. 28 letter, Council President Elliott Payne and council members Robin Wonsley, Jason Chavez, Aisha Chughtai and Soren Stevenson urged Frey to select a police chief whose professional experience was not primarily within MPD. The council members argued that the department's problems extend beyond individual officers and reflect deeper failures in leadership, oversight and institutional accountability.
They cited the department's approximately $20 million budget overrun in 2025 and another projected or reported overrun of roughly $20 million during 2026.
"Now is not the time to promote from within while such entrenched challenges run to the very core of the department," they wrote.
Their letter identified four priorities for the next chief: advancing compliance with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights settlement agreement, addressing police misconduct, improving public safety services and rebuilding community trust.
“While an external candidate does not offer any guarantees, it improves the likelihood that the next Chief of Police has experienced and practiced effective, professional policing without a pattern of racism, excessive force, or a record of misconduct with employees or residents,” the council members wrote. “Minneapolis residents deserve this type of leadership and are entitled to it through the significant taxes they pay.”
Peterson questioned about discriminatory language
During Thursday's questioning, Wonsley pressed Peterson about whether he had witnessed officers using racist, homophobic or discriminatory language during his decades with the department.
Wonsley questioned his ability to recognize and address a culture in which officers might disparage Black residents, immigrants, LGBTQ people, people experiencing homelessness and other marginalized communities. Peterson said he could not recall specific instances in several of the categories Wonsley raised.
In 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice investigation found reasonable cause to believe MPD engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force, discrimination against Black and Native American people, and violations of the constitutional rights of people engaged in protected speech.
The city subsequently entered a court-enforceable settlement agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights requiring significant changes to department policies, training, supervision and accountability.
Moving ahead, Frey can veto the council’s rejection or offer a different police chief candidate. Peterson told council members today that he has “years of service” left in him and plans to stay with MPD.
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