Minneapolis PD Chief O'Hara on Trump's immigration policies, Alpha News, red light cameras

Minneapolis PD Chief Brian O'Hara full interview

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara spoke with FOX 9's Amy Hockert on All Day Live on a wide array of topics, from his op-ed on the Alpha News documentary "The Fall of Minneapolis" to President Trump's immigration policy.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara sat down with FOX 9 All Day to chat about a variety of topics, from his op-ed on the Alpha News documentary "The Fall of Minneapolis" to President Donald Trump's immigration policy and red light cameras.

Here's what he had to say (watch the full interview in the player at the top of the page).

MPD Chief on Alpha News

Chief O'Hara on Alpha News claims: 'It goes too far'

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara spoke with FOX 9's Amy Hockert on All Day Live about his recent op-ed in Alpha News' documentary "The Fall of Minneapolis", which examines the George Floyd riots.

What they're saying:

O'Hara addressed his recent op-ed on Alpha News' documentary "The Fall of Minneapolis", which examines the riots after George Floyd's murder, accusing the documentary of rewriting history.

"Well, I'm the police chief. And when people come after any of my police officers inappropriately, it's my job to stand up for them. And if I'm not going to stand up for the No. 2 cop in this agency, then the kid that's brand new, that's working the midnight shift in the Fourth Precinct has no hope whatsoever that their police chief will stand up for them," O'Hara said. "I've got nothing against Liz Collin. I've read her book. I've seen her documentary. I think she raises a lot of valuable, relevant points. At the same time, it's no surprise that there may have been discrepancies with the case because no case is perfect, but it simply goes too far to attack the integrity of a woman who is an outstanding leader, who had the courage to stand up and basically say, tell all of us all over the world that our eyes were lying to us and what we saw happen didn't actually happen. And that former officer was set up. It's just it goes too far."

Alpha News' attorneys claim they have photos that prove the knee-on-neck tactic was part of MPD training. When asked how O'Hara would respond to that, he said:

"To say that putting a knee on somebody's back or on their shoulder in order to put someone in handcuffs. That's not what happened to George Floyd. George Floyd had a cop kneeling on him for nine minutes on his neck while he was already handcuffed to the point where he became unresponsive, then unconscious and died," O'Hara said. "It's completely ridiculous to try and say that any police training, legitimate training in the civilized world would tell cops to do that. So at best, they have is maybe, you know, the segment, the snippet of her testimony that they used didn't, you know, you know, completely say that you could do that in order to put somebody into handcuffs. But I mean, it just, it goes too far. It's ridiculous. And unfortunately, it then, you know, takes away from what may have been other valid points that the vast majority of people might be willing to listen to."

Watch the interview segment above.

Minneapolis Chief O'Hara on Trump's immigration policies

Chief O'Hara fires back Pres. Trump's immigration claims

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara responded to claims made by the Trump administration on immigration issues in the Twin Cities in an interview with FOX 9's Amy Hockert on All Day Live.

Local perspective:

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara responded to claims made by the Trump administration on immigration issues in the Twin Cities. He said:

"We want people off the street that are felons, that are violent offenders. You know, people that are sexual predators. We want all of them off the street, whether they're in the country legally or illegally. And I'll speak for Minneapolis, at least from my perspective. I want as much federal law enforcement out there going after violent criminals and people that are causing harm in the community as I can possibly get. I want Minneapolis to get our fair share. At the same time, we don't have legal authority. It's simply not our job to go after people that, you know, maybe their visa is expired or they're here undocumented, but they've been living here for 20 or 30 years, and they're just here. They're cutting your grass, they're washing your dishes, they're making your food. That's not our job. And it's none of our business. And really, it would have a chilling effect on public safety, which is what we're really here to provide."

When asked if that is happening here in the Twin Cities, O'Hara said he knows there have been some arrests but he isn't aware of any arrests of people who are not violent criminals.

"There's millions of people here that are here undocumented. If you're going to go after folks, why wouldn't you go after the people that are out here that should have been removed because they're causing violence?" O'Hara said.

O'Hara added, "We need we need the community, you know, across the board. We don't care if you're just here undocumented. That's not our job. It's not our business. Please, no matter what community you're from, if you're being victimized, call the police. You know, because that's the only way we can keep the community at large safe is if people are willing to tell us what's going on."

Watch the segment above.

MPD Chief on speed and red light cameras in Minneapolis

Minneapolis considering traffic cam locations

Ahead of the implementation of cameras on traffic lights that could catch drivers speeding and running red lights, Minneapolis officials are holding public meetings to inform residents of potential first locations of the pilot program.

A pilot program for speed and red light cameras starts in Minneapolis this August. However, the way legislation is written right now, the MPD won't have anything to do with this. O'Hara explains:

"I can't explain why the state legislation was written that way … At the same time, I'm thankful because I have my hands full trying to rebuild the police department and keep the community safe with other things. I know a common community concern oftentimes is speeding through a lot of residential neighborhoods, particularly with their young people, with their elders that are out there trying to get to the store across the street, that kind of thing. So if we are able to do something that may be helpful for that problem that our residents have. That's great. And it's one less thing I have to worry about."