Mayor Blasts Council Vote Rejecting Police Chief Nominee Billy Peterson
Frey calls the denial of the 30-year MPD veteran 'favoritism, not governance' and says he lacks the votes to sustain a veto ahead of a deadline next week.
Mayor Jacob Frey sharply criticized the Minneapolis City Council on Monday after members voted to deny the confirmation of interim Police Chief Billy Peterson, saying the nominee's 30-year record at the Minneapolis Police Department included no sustained complaints, letters of commendation and medals of valor.
Speaking at a press availability following the vote, Frey said no disqualifying infractions emerged during the confirmation process, which included nearly five hours of council questioning of Peterson across two days.
The underlying question is, was Billy Peterson qualified to do the job? The answer is an obvious and resounding yes.
Today it felt like favoritism and favoritism is not governance.
Veto decision looms
Frey said a decision on whether to veto the council's denial must legally be made by Wednesday or Thursday of next week. He acknowledged he does not have the votes needed for a majority, and criticized council members who he said indicated they would support Peterson only on a second round of voting.
They would say yes to him the second time, but not the first. I'm not okay with those games.
Asked who leads the department in the meantime, the mayor was direct.
Right now, and for the foreseeable future, it is interim chief Billy Peterson.
Other Topics from This Document
Possible mayoral veto of the council's denial
Mayor says a veto decision must legally be made by Wednesday or Thursday of next week; he lacks the votes for a majority and criticizes members who indicated they'd vote yes only on a second round, calling it 'games.'
Interim leadership of the Minneapolis Police Department
Peterson remains interim chief 'for the foreseeable future,' but the mayor says it is Peterson's decision whether to continue or return to being inspector of the first precinct.
Police chief search and community engagement process
Process included engagement sessions in all five precincts, an interview panel, private and public meetings with every council member, and completion within a 16-week target. External candidates withdrew, leaving no qualified external finalists.
Mayor-council relations and public safety appointments
Mayor notes a second recent public-safety loss after the office of community safety commissioner matter, and says he lost votes from traditional allies; he declines to read too much into it.
Council questioning of Peterson on racism and misconduct at MPD
Peterson faced nearly five hours of questioning, including about what he witnessed at MPD. Mayor defends his failure to recall incidents, noting he later remembered the 'racist Christmas tree' and cited ~10 discipline referrals.
Impact on MPD morale and recruitment of external candidates
Mayor says candidates have declined to apply citing 'toxicity' on the council, and warns of operational impacts and morale damage for months or years.
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