Daijiworld Media Network - Minnesota
Minnesota, Jul 30: The police chief of St. Paul, Minnesota, has filed a sexual harassment complaint against the city’s first female mayor, alleging that she engaged in inappropriate behaviour toward him and other members of the police department.
The city has appointed an external law firm to investigate the allegations against Mayor Kaohly Her, who assumed office seven months ago.
Police Chief Axel Henry, who has headed the St. Paul Police Department since 2022, raised the allegations through a letter sent by his attorney Christopher Madel to the city attorney on April 1.
“The City is on notice that Mayor Her has engaged in illegal conduct towards City employees,” Madel wrote in the letter, according to reports.
The complaint alleges that Her’s conduct went beyond isolated incidents and included alleged sexual harassment of subordinate city employees, including members of the police department.
The letter also included a screenshot of an alleged text message sent by Her to an unnamed city employee, containing a reference to “Weiner Wednesday” along with a hot dog emoji and a meme that allegedly carried sexual implications.
The complaint further alleged that Her used mobile phones to send inappropriate and potentially unlawful messages. However, it did not provide details of any other alleged communications.
Chief Henry’s lawyer has requested that the city preserve and examine data from the mayor’s mobile phones, citing possible future legal action.
Responding to the allegations, Mayor Her said she has cooperated with the investigation and expressed confidence that the full facts would emerge.
“As Mayor, I take my responsibility to treat every employee with professionalism and respect very seriously. I recognise that some of my attempts at humour fell short of the standard I expect of myself,” Her said in a statement.
The St. Paul Police Department declined to comment on the matter.
The investigation has been assigned to Resolute Law, a St. Cloud-based law firm. The firm has not commented on the status of the inquiry.
Mayor Her, 53, was born in Laos and arrived in the United States as a child after spending time in a refugee camp. She later grew up in Illinois and Wisconsin before entering politics.
The report also noted that Her had previously faced allegations of inappropriate behaviour. A former friend had sought a restraining order against her last year, claiming Her sent inappropriate or sexualised messages. However, the petition was denied by a Ramsey County court official, who found no evidence of threats or wrongdoing.