Minneapolis Mayor Ordered to Fix Police Staffing or Face Court Fight

Caption: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey in City Council Chambers in 2015. Credit: Tony Webster, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

A Hennepin County judge has ordered Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to meet a long-standing city charter requirement on police staffing, setting a January deadline that could lead to a contempt trial if the city falls short again.

What You Should Know

Judge Laura M. Thomas issued an alternative writ of mandamus on June 25, finding Frey has “a clear legal duty under the Minneapolis City Charter to employ at least 731 sworn police officers,” according to CBS Minnesota. Minneapolis currently has 638 sworn officers and 30 recruits in the police academy, well below the charter’s threshold of 1.7 officers per 1,000 residents.

The System Under Pressure

The lawsuit, brought by the conservative Upper Midwest Law Center on behalf of four Minneapolis residents and property owners, points back to a 2022 Minnesota Supreme Court decision that already affirmed the same staffing duty, according to FOX 9. The department has remained below the charter minimum since before the unrest that followed George Floyd’s 2020 death, when staffing fell as low as 503 to 539 officers in subsequent years.

The Receipts

“For the first time in four years, a judge said there will be consequences for the City of Minneapolis if it continues to violate the law,” Upper Midwest Law Center attorney Rachel Paulose told CBS Minnesota. A spokesperson for the Minneapolis Office of Community Safety countered that the department has hired more than 150 officers since the start of 2025 and that applications are up over 200 percent since 2023, arguing recruitment, not litigation, is the path to compliance.

What Happens Next

Frey has until Jan. 4, 2027, to demonstrate compliance with the 731-officer requirement. If the city falls short, a trial is scheduled for late April 2027 to determine whether Frey has a “valid excuse for nonperformance” of the charter duty.

References: CBS Minnesota | FOX 9