Investigation: St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her was 'offensive, inappropriate' but did not sexually harass

MINNEAPOLIS — St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her “engaged in offensive and inappropriate behavior” with her employees but did not sexually harass or retaliate against anyone, according to a two-page summary of a monthslong internal investigation into her conduct.

In summarizing the report’s findings, St. Paul Human Resources proposes that Her attend training on workplace conduct and hire an executive coach at her own expense.

The summary, written by St. Paul Director of Human Resources Kamaria Kassim, shows investigators found that Her created and shared offensive material and created an uncomfortable work environment for her employees.

The investigation was initiated at the behest of the St. Paul Police Department, with Chief Axel Henry as a named complainant. The complaint alleged that Her’s inappropriate conduct had “extended beyond isolated incidents” to include sexual harassment of subordinates, including members of his police department.

St. Cloud-based Resolute Law carried out the investigation.

In a statement Friday morning, Her apologized for causing discomfort, and said she is committed to learning from the investigation.

“I have always worked to be approachable as a leader and build strong working relationships, and I attempt to connect with people to build camaraderie,” Her said in the statement. “As reflected in the summary of investigative findings, at times, I became too informal in my communications and crossed lines that are not consistent with the standards set forth in the City’s Workplace Conduct Policy.”

According to the summary, there were no findings of allegations that that Her engaged in sexual harassment; sent inappropriate texts to more than two city employees; made sexual noises while working out on city property; or retaliated against any city employee.

Still, Kassim writes that the findings “reflect conduct that did not meet the City’s expectations and require immediate attention.”

Those include:

—Comply with all applicable City-wide policies and workplace expectations.

—Maintain appropriate professional boundaries and exercise sound judgment in workplace interactions.

—Attend training on workplace conduct.

—Retain an executive coach at your own expense.

Kassim wrote that she will be following up with Her to make sure the mayor is complying with those steps.

“The City of Saint Paul does not tolerate offensive behavior, dissemination of offensive materials, and it does not tolerate any retaliation toward anyone who complains about such behavior,” the summary concludes. “Should any of these occur at any time, please let me know so that I can respond appropriately. You are also directed not to take any hostile or retaliatory action toward anyone involved in the investigation.”

It’s not clear when — or if — city officials plan to release the full report, which came at taxpayer expense. A message left with the City Attorney seeking clarity on the report’s release was not immediately returned.

Henry saw the investigative summary at the same time as members of the public. He was not given a copy of the final report, according to two people familiar with the investigation.

Henry’s attorney, Chris Madel, issued a statement blasting the city’s findings.

“The City’s so-called ‘summary’ is nothing more than a sanitized, self-serving whitewash of an investigation the City refuses to let the public see,” Madel wrote. “Among many other things, we are aware of at least FIVE separate witnesses who confirm that Mayor Her made unmistakable orgasm-like noises in the St. Paul Police Department gym. No amount of bureaucratic wordsmithing by the City’s HR department can make witnesses — or what they heard — disappear.”

The Star Tribune spoke with three attorneys whose clients provided witness statements during the investigation confirming that they heard the mayor make what they believed to be sexual noises in the police gym.

Henry reported Her’s behavior to the city on March 30.

“Chief Henry is not only seeking to address the wrongdoing but also create a measure of protection for his team, signaling that such conduct will not be tolerated,” Madel, wrote to St. Paul City Attorney Irene Kao on April 1.

The public was unaware of the pending investigation for months, until the Minnesota Star Tribune reported its existence in late July.

In response, Her acknowledged that some of her “attempts at humor” fell flat and apologized for any “unintended impact” her actions may have had on city employees.

“As Mayor, I take my responsibility to treat every employee with professionalism and respect very seriously,” Her said in a July statement, adding that she was fully cooperating with the investigation.

On Friday, Her said she did not respond publicly to the allegations because she wanted to respect the investigatory process. She said she was “deeply disappointed” that other people told the press about the allegations and investigation. “Those actions caused real harm to my family and the public trust.”

Accusations that Her created a sexualized work environment arose less than six months after she was elected mayor in an upset over former Mayor Melvin Carter. She is the first woman and Hmong person to hold the office.

So far, the allegations against Her include that she superimposed the face of a police officer onto a meme about “weinering” in relation to a hot dog gathering with top brass in the department; initiated a conversation about her own breasts and the breasts of a deputy chief in the police locker room; made performative sexualized noises while working out; pasted images of herself over photographs of high-ranking officers in department headquarters; superimposed the faces of some St. Paul police officers, including Henry, onto the bodies of UFC fighters; and sent sexualized communications and made unwanted physical contact directed at Henry.

In her first months in office, Her made a visible effort to connect with city workers, going out with a public works crew to patch potholes in January, suiting up and holding a hose at the firefighters’ training facility, and working out with police officers in their gym.

The City of St. Paul’s Workplace Conduct Policy lists several examples of sexual harassment as prohibited, including sharing “sexually explicit images, videos, texts, emails, messages and phone calls.”

On top of that, sexual comments that are “considered unacceptable by another individual” are prohibited and can include comments about an individual’s body that go “beyond mere courtesy.” The policy also prohibits dirty jokes that are part of social media posts, tweets or memes.

In recent years, the city Human Resources department has conducted two investigations into the conduct of an elected official: Ward 1 Council Member Anika Bowie. After investigations substantiating some of their accusations were released, one former aide sued the city and received a $360,000 settlement from the city, and the other aide had threatened another lawsuit.

Minneapolis also spent at least $127,000 to investigate misconduct complaints against former Police Chief Brian O’Hara, who was accused of inappropriate sexual relationships with subordinates. O’Hara resigned under threat of termination in May — hours before the city released a findings report by an external law firm. That 15-page report, while redacted, concluded that O’Hara knowingly interfered with the investigation by deleting evidence.

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