The Daily BS • Bo Snerdley Cuts Through It!
The Daily BS • Bo Snerdley Cuts Through It!

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Police chief sues mayor over ‘MILF’ remark — and that’s not even the strangest allegation

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BS BULLETIN:

  • St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry is suing Mayor Kaohly Her and the city, alleging sexual harassment, unwanted touching and retaliation.
  • The complaint says Her called herself a “MILF,” made sexual innuendos about Henry’s body and twice put her hand on his upper thigh during a meeting.
  • An independent investigation previously found Her engaged in “offensive and inappropriate behavior,” but did not substantiate sexual harassment or retaliation.

There are workplace complaints.

And then there is the 73-page lawsuit St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry just filed against his mayor.

Henry is suing Mayor Kaohly Her and the city of St. Paul, alleging a months-long pattern of sexually inappropriate comments, unwanted physical contact, and retaliation after he complained about her behavior.

Among the allegations: the mayor referred to herself as a “MILF.”

According to the lawsuit, Henry was wearing a ribbon from his service with the department’s Mobile Field Force, abbreviated “MFF,” during a February awards ceremony. Her allegedly asked what the letters meant before responding that she thought it said “MILF” and suggesting maybe she could get one.

That was hardly the end of it.

The lawsuit alleges Her made sexual innuendos about the size of Henry’s penis and, during a March police budget meeting, placed her hand on his upper thigh beneath the conference table.

Twice.

Henry says Assistant Chief Paul Ford witnessed the contact. Then there were the pictures.

According to the lawsuit, Her removed a photograph from Henry’s office showing the chief and two other officers, digitally replaced their bodies with muscular men wearing compression shorts, printed the altered picture, put it in a gold frame, and returned it to his office.

The complaint says she also created doctored images placing officers’ faces on members of a boy band. Henry alleges Her repeatedly sought a closer personal relationship with him as well.

In February, while Henry and another officer were using personal vacation time at a golf simulator in Woodbury, Her allegedly learned where they were and arrived unexpectedly. The lawsuit says she told them she had to come because they wouldn’t invite her.

Henry also alleges the mayor arranged a Saturday-night meeting with him at a bar, discussed problems in her marriage, and told him they needed to have a close relationship. The chief says he interpreted some of those remarks as potentially threatening his job.

After Henry filed his workplace complaint, he alleges Her and city officials retaliated against him by excluding him from personnel decisions and taking other actions against him. Her’s office points to an independent investigation that reached a different conclusion.

That investigation found the mayor had engaged in “offensive and inappropriate behavior” and crossed workplace boundaries, but it did not substantiate allegations that she sexually harassed Henry or retaliated against employees.

Her has acknowledged becoming too informal in some workplace communications and crossing lines inconsistent with city policy. The mayor’s office says Her will follow the investigation’s recommendations and has declined further comment because of the pending litigation.

Henry is now asking a jury to hear the case.

MY QUICK TAKE

Somewhere around the point where the mayor is allegedly Photoshopping the police chief onto a bodybuilder, showing up at his golf outing and explaining whether she qualifies as a “MILF,” the traditional mayor-police chief relationship appears to have taken a fairly dramatic detour.

The outside investigators didn’t substantiate sexual harassment. Now a jury may get to decide what to make of all of it.

One thing seems safely established already: Nobody at St. Paul City Hall was suffering from excessive professionalism.

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