The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara: The Interview You Likely Missed
Most leaders hide behind surprise when disaster strikes. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara did the opposite.
In a January 2025 interview with The New York Times' Michael Barbaro, O'Hara said the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent was "predictable and entirely preventable"—and that he'd said so publicly the day before it happened. Days after I recorded this episode, federal agents killed Alex Pretti, a VA nurse, in another operation that has drawn national outcry.
This episode isn't about policing. It's about what leadership looks like when:
- The crisis you predicted happens anyway
- Your people are exhausted and under-resourced
- You're caught between powerful institutions and community grief
- One bad moment could erase years of progress
O'Hara doesn't perform. He doesn't spin. He names fear, admits fragility, and refuses to let federal agencies off the hook for dangerous tactics—even when it would be easier to stay quiet.
If you lead anything—a team, a company, a movement—this interview will show you what accountability sounds like when the performance stops and the real work begins.
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW: The Daily, January 13, 2025: "Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara" with Michael Barbaro
KEY MOMENTS:
- Why saying "this was predictable" is the hardest—and most important—leadership move
- The F-bomb that built trust instead of breaking it
- How O'Hara critiques ICE without collapsing into blame
- What it means to hold both empathy and accountability at the same time
- Why "turn the heat down" isn't neutrality—it's survival
TRIGGER WARNING: This episode discusses police violence, federal enforcement operations, and community trauma.
Recorded January 2025. Updated following the killing of Alex Pretti on January 25, 2025.
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