A conservative law firm is asking a lower court to enforce a 2022 Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that found Minneapolis to be deficient in meeting city charter-mandated police staffing levels.
The Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC) is redoubling its efforts to compel Minneapolis to hire more police officers, alleging in a filing this week that Mayor Jacob Frey has “blatantly refused” to abide by a requirement to employ 1.7 officers for every 1,000 residents.
That ratio places the city’s minimum staffing level at 731 officers, but in the past several years, the city has struggled to get within 100 of that mark.
After the murder of George Floyd by ex-cop Derek Chauvin and the unrest that followed, a wave of officers fled from the Minneapolis Police Department, reducing MPD’s force from 889 sworn officers in early 2019 to as low as 503 full-time officers in February 2024.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara has touted his department’s recent recruitment campaign as a success, telling city council members in September that MPD had brought on 145 new recruits in 2025.
As of Tuesday, MPD rostered 617 sworn officers, and another 32 are enrolled in the city’s police academy.
The plaintiffs say residents can no longer afford to have an understaffed police department.
Rachel Paulose, an attorney with UMLC, says “there is a failure of will” among city leadership to make MPD a more attractive workplace. She suggested that the mayor and city council raise salaries and offer better benefits to hire and retain officers.
“It does not appear to us they are making an effort,” Paulose said.
Alternatively, Paulose says there are tools at the court’s disposal to speed along the process, including setting a deadline to meet charter-mandated staffing or imposing fines.
Minneapolis spokesperson Jess Olstad pointed to recent efforts to bolster hiring, including $2 million in recruitment efforts and a 22% pay raise approved in 2024.
“The City of Minneapolis rejects allegations that the number of police officers has been suppressed. That is far from the truth. In fact, significant recruitment and retention efforts currently show that the City is on track to have over 700 officers in 2027. Minneapolis has the most diverse police force in our history, saw a record number of applications from people wanting to join the department this past year, and has continued to keep violent crime down. All this in a time when other cities across the country are seeing a decrease in police officers.
“This work isn’t slowing down. Mayor Frey, Commissioner Barnette and MPD Chief O’Hara have made recruitment a priority, and that focus has resulted in significant progress.” Jess Olstad, City of Minneapolis spokesperson
UMLC filed the petition on Monday in Hennepin County District Court. The city has yet to file a formal response, and the judge has not scheduled any hearings in the case.
