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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Minneapolis Police Chief Search Enters Candidate Review as City Targets Fall Selection
More than a dozen candidates have applied as screening begins and the city prepares for interviews, finalists and eventual City Council confirmation
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (September 12, 2026). Minneapolis' search for its next police chief has entered the candidate-review stage, with more than a dozen people applying and the city's executive search firm beginning to vet applicants while additional applications remain open.
The city said the applicant pool includes both internal and external candidates. Candidates judged most qualified based on experience, leadership characteristics and criteria established during the search will move into interviews.
The search is entering a consequential phase because Minneapolis expects to move from public consultation to actual candidate selection during September and October.
Under the city's current timeline, applications remain open this month while review and vetting continue. Community listening sessions are concluding, and screening interviews are expected to begin during September.
Candidate interviews will continue into October, when finalists are expected to emerge. Mayor Jacob Frey, Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette and other city leaders are then expected to conduct final interviews and identify a preferred candidate.
A background investigation would follow.
The mayor would then submit a nomination to the Minneapolis City Council, which has confirmation authority. The city anticipates council review and confirmation in October or November.
The timetable matters because Minneapolis' next police chief will inherit a department still operating under intense scrutiny over staffing, crime reduction, police reform and community trust.
The city says it is looking for a leader capable of continuing reductions in crime, rebuilding and expanding the Minneapolis Police Department workforce, strengthening public confidence and advancing ongoing reforms.
Community input has been built into the process through listening sessions, feedback from MPD employees and consultation with City Council members and other public-safety stakeholders.
Residents have been asked what priorities, qualities and leadership characteristics they believe the next chief should possess. The city says that feedback will inform candidate evaluation and interviews rather than simply serving as a separate public-engagement exercise.
The city has said the overall search remains on the approximately 16-week schedule established when the national recruitment process began.
That means Minneapolis is moving toward a decision relatively quickly.
The process will also test the city's post-charter-change public-safety structure. The mayor selects the preferred candidate, but the City Council retains a formal role through confirmation.
For residents, the next several weeks represent the transition from discussing what Minneapolis should seek in a police chief to determining who will actually be entrusted with the job.
The city has not yet released the identities of the applicants.
That will make the emergence of finalists the next major public milestone in the search.
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