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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | St. Paul Council Members Demand Clear Police Leadership Plan as Mayor-Chief Relationship Breaks Down
City Council members are pressing Mayor Kaohly Her to explain how she will oversee the Saint Paul Police Department after an outside investigation concluded that her working relationship with Police Chief Axel Henry had deteriorated to an unsustainable level, even though the investigator did not find sexual harassment.
SAINT PAUL, MN (October 7, 2026).
Pressure is increasing on Saint Paul Mayor Kaohly Her to explain how the city's police department will be governed after an independent investigation concluded that the relationship between the mayor and Police Chief Axel Henry had broken down to a point the investigator described as unsustainable.
City Council President Rebecca Noecker and other council members are now asking the mayor for a clear plan showing how the administration and police department can continue functioning while the mayor and chief communicate largely through intermediaries.
The dispute has moved beyond a private workplace disagreement because Henry is Saint Paul's police chief and Her is the city's elected mayor.
Henry is also suing the mayor.
An outside investigation examined allegations involving Her's workplace conduct, including an incident in which she was accused of touching Henry's upper thigh beneath a table during a meeting and sharing images or jokes that were considered inappropriate.
The investigation concluded that Her's conduct violated city policy but did not constitute sexual harassment. Her disputed portions of Henry's account of how their relationship deteriorated.
Those findings leave Saint Paul with a governance problem distinct from the legal claims.
The mayor remains in office.
Henry remains police chief.
Neither has announced plans to resign.
Yet the outside investigator found their working relationship had deteriorated to the point that communication was occurring through another city official and warned that the arrangement was not sustainable.
Her administration says that Assistant Mayor Erica Schumacher oversees day-to-day police matters and provides high-level updates to the mayor, an arrangement the administration says resembles Her's management of other departments.
Some council members do not consider that sufficient.
Noecker has called on Her to take accountability publicly and assure residents that the mayor and police chief can continue carrying out their responsibilities.
Council Member Molly Coleman said there is not currently a functional relationship between the mayor and police department and described the existing situation as untenable.
The distinction between the investigation's findings is important.
The investigator did not substantiate sexual harassment.
That does not mean the investigation found no problem.
It identified inappropriate workplace conduct and a severe breakdown in the professional relationship between two of the city's most important officials.
The resulting question is administrative rather than merely personal.
Saint Paul police must make decisions involving public safety, staffing, budgets, major incidents and city policy. The mayor's office carries executive responsibility for municipal departments.
An arrangement in which the mayor and police chief cannot communicate normally therefore has consequences beyond the two officials.
Henry's pending lawsuit adds another layer because communications and administrative decisions could intersect with ongoing litigation.
Council members have stopped short of broadly calling for either official to resign.
Instead, the immediate demand is for an explanation of how the city intends to function under the current circumstances.
That puts the next move largely with Her.
The investigation has been completed.
Its findings are public.
The breakdown in the relationship has been acknowledged.
Saint Paul now needs to know whether the administration has a durable governing arrangement or merely an intermediary keeping two officials apart.
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