Hodges says Mpls. should skip wide search for new police chief

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said she wants to avoid an external search for a new police chief and instead put Medaria Arradondo in charge of the department immediately, reiterating her support for the interim chief to succeed Janeé Harteau.

The mayor described a sense of urgency among constituents and officers for making changes in police leadership in a statement Hodges tweeted Tuesday night.

Hodges said she'd nominate Arradondo as chief Friday night, right after Harteau resigned.

"I might have been open to making an interim appointment and starting a lengthy process to identify an outside candidate if there weren't an ideal candidate right in front of us," Hodges wrote.

Harteau stepped down as chief nearly a week after one of her officers fatally shot Justine Ruszczyk, a south Minneapolis woman who had called 911 to report a sexual assault.

Restoring public trust in Minneapolis police, embattled by multiple high-profile shootings and excessive use-of-force claims, has been at the center of Hodges reelection campaign.

Hodges' statement Tuesday praised Arradondo as a "skilled communicator who is respected inside and outside" the police department.