Judge threatens contempt for Frey over police staffing levels
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A Hennepin County judge on Thursday threatened to hold Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey in contempt of court over the city's failure to meet minimum police staffing levels.
The order from Hennepin County Judge Laura Thomas comes in response to recent litigation from the Upper Midwest Law Center.
The conservative legal advocacy group represents four Minneapolis residents who are pushing the city to comply with a charter provision that requires at least 17 police officers per 10,000 residents. At its current population level, the city must have 731 sworn officers.
Minneapolis lost about a third of its officers following the murder of George Floyd but has been slowly been rebuilding its ranks over the last six years. The city says today it has 638 officers on staff plus another 30 recruits in the police academy.
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In a statement, plaintiff's attorney Doug Seaton calls the order “an important step toward restoring accountability for Minneapolis residents.”
In an email to MPR News, Office of Community Safety spokesperson Brian Feintech said that the department has brought on more than 150 officers since early 2025.
“You don't strengthen a police department through lawsuits,” Feintech said. “You do it through recruitment, hiring and retention. That's exactly what we're doing, and it’s working.”
Thomas ordered Frey to comply with the minimum police staffing levels by Jan. 4, 2027.
The Upper Midwest Law Center previously sued the city over police staffing in 2020 but dropped the litigation two years later after determining that the city was moving in the right direction.
