St. Paul police chief files sexual harassment complaint against Mayor Kaohly Her

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her is being investigated after a formal sexual harassment complaint was filed against her, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has confirmed.

A document outlining the complaint obtained by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS states that St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry filed the formal complaint against the mayor, alleging that Her made inappropriate sexual comments toward him and other city employees.

That document, which is addressed to the city attorney, is dated April 1 and states that, “litigation is ‘reasonably foreseeable.’”

Henry has participated in extensive interviews with investigators on at least two occasions.

Attorney Chris Madel, who is representing Henry, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS in a statement, “Chief Henry just closed a triple-homicide case in under four hours. He’s got a city to keep safe and has no comment on this.”

In the letter, Madel calls on the city attorney to “take all steps necessary to perform a full filesystem extraction” of Her’s phones.

A spokesperson from the mayor’s office sent the following statement: “To protect confidentiality and the integrity of the process, the City will not comment on an active investigation. The mayor has deep respect for city employees and regrets any unintended impact her actions may have had.”

Mark Ross, the president of the St. Paul Police Federation, also sent a comment:

“Our obligation is to our membership and the focus of the Federation will remain on supporting the rank-and-file members who are out in the community risking their lives everyday. I am not in a position to elaborate further on this situation, but I do want the community to rest assured that our focus is on serving them with the commitment, class, and integrity that they’ve come to expect and deserve.”

Allegations

The letter to the city attorney claims that Her “used one or more mobile phones to communicate inappropriate, and, indeed, unlawful text messages.”

It includes what appears to be a screenshot of a message saying, “Happy Weiner Wednesday! Wish I was having a (hotdog emoji) with you all on 6 today!” A redacted picture is then included with a statement message saying, “When she wraps you up in her blanket after you gave her a good weinering,” with laughing emojis.

That is allegedly just one of numerous “inappropriate” incidents involving Her.

The letter to the city attorney says they go “beyond isolated incidents” and extend to other city employees and police officers. It adds that Henry came forward as the formal complainant over concerns that, without doing so, “the behavior will continue unchecked and may expose others to retaliation for speaking out.”

Her made history as the first woman and first Hmong American to become mayor of St. Paul less than 7 months ago. Recently, she’s been in the spotlight for St. Paul’s budget problems and plans to clear homeless encampments.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is digging further into the allegations and has reached out to other parties. Download the KSTP app below to receive additional updates on this story.

For Related Stories: Investigation  Kaohly Her  Sexual Harassment  St. Paul  St. Paul Police Department