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9-24-2026 6:21am
MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Saint Paul Police Chief Sues Mayor Kaohly Her, Alleging Harassment and Retaliation
Tom Akaolisa
Editor
SAINT PAUL, MN (September 24, 2026). Saint Paul Police Chief Axel Henry has filed a civil lawsuit against Mayor Kaohly Her and the City of Saint Paul, alleging that Her sexually harassed him and that city officials retaliated after he reported her conduct.
The 73-page complaint was filed Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court by Henry’s attorney, Chris Madel. It alleges violations of the Minnesota Human Rights Act, the Minnesota Whistleblower Act and the state Government Data Practices Act, along with other claims.
Henry’s allegations have not been proven in court. The city has denied that an independent investigation substantiated sexual harassment or retaliation.
According to the lawsuit, Her repeatedly attempted to establish a closer personal relationship with Henry, discussed difficulties in her marriage and told him that they needed to become friends for their working relationship to succeed. Henry alleges that he interpreted the statement as an implied threat to his position.
The complaint also accuses Her of making sexual remarks and placing her hand on Henry’s upper thigh during a March 18 police budget meeting. It identifies Assistant Chief Paul Ford as a witness to the alleged contact.
Henry further alleges that Her altered photographs of police command staff by placing officers’ faces on images of bodybuilders and members of a musical group. The lawsuit says one altered image was printed, placed in a gold frame and returned to Henry’s office.
Additional allegations concern attempts to meet Henry socially outside work. The complaint says Her arrived unannounced at a Woodbury golf simulator after learning that Henry was there with another officer. It also describes a Saturday meeting at a Saint Paul restaurant during which Her allegedly discussed her marriage and offered Henry a ride home.
Henry claims the city retaliated after he filed a human-resources complaint by excluding him from personnel decisions, publicly criticizing his complaint and granting raises to other members of the department’s command staff while denying him comparable treatment.
The lawsuit was filed less than one week after Saint Paul released a two-page summary of an outside workplace investigation. That investigation described some of Her’s interactions with city employees as offensive and inappropriate but did not substantiate sexual harassment or retaliation.
Her acknowledged after the summary’s release that she had become overly informal in some workplace communications and had crossed boundaries established by city policy.
The complete investigative report has not been released publicly. Henry’s lawsuit alleges that city officials have also withheld the document from him, despite his claim that he is entitled to receive it under Minnesota’s data-practices law.
A spokesperson for Her reiterated that the independent inquiry did not substantiate sexual harassment or retaliation. The city declined further comment because the lawsuit is pending.
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