MPD chief pushes back against claims he knew of video showing incident
Posted: July 9, 5:20 p.m. Updated: July 10, 3 p.m.
Minneapolis police chief Brian O'Hara said Sunday he was not aware of a video that shows a use of force incident involving a former MPD officer which eventually led that officer to leave the police department last week.
The video shows an incident in 2020 where officer Tyler Timberlake, who worked for the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia, used a stun gun and then pressed his knees into the back and neck of a Black man, La Monta Gladney. The incident happened 11 days after George Floyd's murder.
A Virginia jury acquitted Timberlake of assault, but Gladney later reached a $150,000 settlement with Fairfax County.
In a statement, O’Hara said he was limited in what he can discuss about Timberlake’s employment, but said the MPD hiring process involves a background investigation and screening. O’Hara acknowledge he was present for Timberlake’s final interview.
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“I did not know of the existence of video capturing a use of force incident involving this individual until after receiving a media inquiry,” O’Hara said in a statement. “Upon learning of the existence of video and seeing it myself, I immediately ordered an investigation into MPD’s hiring processes.”
In a statement, Police Federation President Sherral Schmidt says Chief O'Hara was “fully aware” of Timberlake's history, though in April the chief expressed concern about the hiring to the Minnesota Reformer. Schmidt said nothing precludes Timberlake from being on the force, since he was acquitted of all charges in Virginia.
“Releasing an officer with nearly 1,800 hours of training, years of prior experience and is qualified to work in the state of Minnesota, seems counterproductive as the police department continues to struggle to meet staffing needs and has approximately 42 percent less sworn officers, than what it had three years ago,” Schmidt said.
Michelle Gross with Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) said the inconsistencies around what O'Hara said he knew about are alarming.
“I find it deeply disturbing that the chief is lying and back-peddling about his hire of Tyler Timberlake,” Gross said. “We cannot have reform in this department if we are going to hire the same kinds of officers that just left. If we are going to do that we are never going to see accountable, professional, constitutional policing which is what we deserve in this city.”
O’Hara said he was hired to “restore faith and pride” in the MPD patch.
“To imply that I had known about this video at the time of hire and later lied is false,” O’Hara said.