Minneapolis police chief says he was unaware of new hire's past excessive force allegations
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Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said Monday that he did not know that a new officer was alleged to have used excessive force in a previous job before signing off on his hiring.
Tyler Timberlake, who’s white, used a stun gun on Lamonta Gladney, who’s Black, and pressed his knees into Gladney’s neck and back during a 2020 incident in Fairfax County, Va.
Gladney was unarmed, in distress and was allegedly found to have had cocaine and PCP in his system. A jury acquitted Timberlake of misdemeanor assault; Gladney sued and received a $150,000 settlement.
Timberlake began working for the Minneapolis Police Department in January. He left the MPD on Wednesday. Citing privacy laws, city officials declined to say whether Timberlake resigned or was fired.
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At a news conference, O'Hara said he knew that Timberlake had been involved in a critical incident but was unaware of the details until he saw the video later.
"I am certain that I did not have anything described to me related to the behavior that's obvious and apparent in that video,” O’Hara said.
The Minnesota Reformer first reported on Timberlake’s hiring in April, but the initial incident, Timberlake’s trial and Gladney’s settlement had been reported widely by media in Washington, D.C.
O’Hara, who started as chief in November, said that during his second day on the job, he observed Timberlake’s employment interview but did not participate in it.
“It’s very obvious to me that there is a problem here with this process if someone can go through layers of review and something like that not being flagged,” O’Hara said.
The chief pledged to improve procedures for vetting new officers and said he has already implemented changes.
"The folks who investigate people's backgrounds are now a component of the internal affairs division, “O’Hara said. “So that whenever there is a background investigation, the full investigation will be reviewed up the chain of the command in internal affairs."
In a statement Friday, Minneapolis Police Federation President Sgt. Sherral Schmidt called Timberlake's departure “unfortunate” and said there's nothing that legally precludes him from serving as a police officer in Minnesota.
