In St. Paul, Minnesota, a lawsuit filed by Police Chief Axel Henry against Mayor Kaohly Her lays bare one of the more unusual ruptures in modern civic life — a top law enforcement officer alleging that the city's elected leader subjected him to sexual harassment, unwanted touch, and retaliation when he sought accountability. The complaint, spanning 73 pages, arrives at a moment when institutions built on public trust find themselves tested by the very dynamics they are meant to govern. Whatever the courts ultimately determine, the case raises enduring questions about power, proximity, and who
St. Paul Police Chief Sues Mayor Over Alleged Sexual Harassment and Retaliation
Police Chief Axel Henry alleges workplace sexual harassment, unwanted physical contact, and retaliation affecting his professional standing and duties.
She had to come because you guys wouldn't invite me
Mark
So a police chief is suing his own mayor. That's unusual. What's the core allegation here?
Mimi
Henry says Her subjected him to sexually explicit comments, unwanted touching, and then retaliated against him professionally after he complained. The lawsuit runs 73 pages and details specific incidents over time.
Luke
Right, but we should be clear: Her's office says an independent investigation found nothing. So we have Henry's account of what happened versus the city's account of what an investigation concluded.
Mark
What kind of comments are we talking about?
Mimi
Sexually explicit ones—references to body parts, simulated sexual acts during workouts, and at one point she called herself a MILF during an awards ceremony.
Luke
Those details come from Henry's lawsuit filing. We don't have Her's version of those specific moments yet, though her office has denied the harassment allegations broadly.
Mark
And the physical contact?
Mimi
He alleges she put her hand on his thigh under a table during a budget meeting. He also says she showed up uninvited to a golf outing he was on personal time for.
Mark
That last one sounds like it could be innocent.
Luke
It could be. The lawsuit frames it as part of a pattern, but a single unexpected appearance at a golf simulator is ambiguous without more context. The thigh contact is more direct, but again—it's his account.
Mark
What about the retaliation claim?
Mimi
After he filed an internal complaint, Henry says he was excluded from decisions, records were withheld, and the city released a shortened summary of the investigation that downplayed her conduct.
Luke
The city says the investigation didn't substantiate harassment or retaliation. So the question becomes: what did the full investigation actually say, and why does Henry think a two-page summary misrepresents it?
Mark
Has Her responded to the specific allegations?
Mimi
Not directly. Her's office issued a statement saying the investigation found nothing and that she'll follow its recommendations.
Luke
Which is a standard legal response when you're being sued. It doesn't tell us whether Her disputes the incidents Henry describes or whether she has a different interpretation of them.
Mark
What happens next?
Mimi
The lawsuit is active, so discovery will happen. That's when both sides exchange evidence and documents. The investigation report itself will likely become central to the case.
Luke
And we still don't know what that full report says. That's the missing piece right now.
O Pulso
- A 73-page lawsuit alleges that Mayor Her made sexually explicit remarks, simulated an orgasm in a shared gym, and placed her hand on Chief Henry's thigh during a budget meeting — a pattern Henry describes as sustained and deliberate.
- The tension sharpened when Her allegedly threatened to falsely accuse Henry of grabbing her if she did not prevail in a dispute over relocating the downtown police station.
- After Henry filed an internal complaint, city officials allegedly excluded him from key decisions, withheld records, and released a condensed summary of an independent investigation that he says obscures its true findings.
- Her's office counters that the independent investigation did not substantiate claims of sexual harassment or retaliation, and she has since moved her personal security detail from the police department to the county sheriff's office.
- The city now faces a stark institutional fracture — its chief of police and its mayor offering irreconcilable accounts of what happened, with litigation as the arena where the truth will be contested.
In St. Paul, Minnesota, a lawsuit filed by Police Chief Axel Henry against Mayor Kaohly Her lays bare one of the more unusual ruptures in modern civic life — a top law enforcement officer alleging that the city's elected leader subjected him to sexual harassment, unwanted touch, and retaliation when he sought accountability. The complaint, spanning 73 pages, arrives at a moment when institutions built on public trust find themselves tested by the very dynamics they are meant to govern. Whatever the courts ultimately determine, the case raises enduring questions about power, proximity, and who is believed when the hierarchy of harm runs in an unexpected direction.
Axel Henry has led the St. Paul Police Department since 2022, but in late September he stepped into a different kind of public arena — filing a 73-page lawsuit against Mayor Kaohly Her, alleging a sustained pattern of sexual harassment, unwanted physical contact, and retaliation.
The complaint describes a series of incidents that Henry says unfolded over an extended period. Her allegedly made sexually explicit comments about his body, referred to herself using the acronym MILF at a department awards ceremony, and simulated an orgasm while exercising near Henry and other employees at the police gym — a facility she reportedly visited frequently when she knew he would be there. She also placed her hand on his upper thigh beneath a conference table during a budget meeting and told him their relationship needed to be close, or 'this was not going to work.'
The lawsuit takes a sharper turn with an alleged incident at a cigar lounge in December, where Her reportedly threatened to tell people that Henry had grabbed her if she did not get her way on a police station relocation dispute. Months later, she showed up uninvited to a golf simulator outing Henry had taken on personal vacation time, telling him she had to come because they would not invite her.
When Henry filed an internal complaint, he alleges the administration responded with retaliation — excluding him from decisions, withholding records, and releasing what he describes as a sanitized two-page summary of an independent investigation designed to minimize the findings against her.
Her's office disputes the characterization entirely, stating that the independent investigation did not substantiate claims of sexual harassment or retaliation. Earlier in September, she transferred her personal security detail from the police department to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office — a move that arrived as the lawsuit was being prepared. The two sides now offer fundamentally incompatible accounts, and the distance between them will be measured in court.
Axel Henry has led the St. Paul Police Department since 2022. In late September, he filed a 73-page lawsuit against Mayor Kaohly Her, alleging that she subjected him to explicit sexual comments, unwanted physical contact, and a coordinated campaign of retaliation after he complained about her behavior.
According to the complaint, Her made multiple sexually suggestive remarks directed at Henry over an extended period. During one incident, she referred to herself using the acronym MILF and made sexually explicit comments about his body. At an awards ceremony where Henry wore a ribbon abbreviated MFF for Mobile Field Force, Her asked what the letters meant, then answered her own question by saying she thought it stood for MILF and wondered if she could get one. The lawsuit also alleges that Her simulated an orgasm while exercising near Henry and other employees at the police department gym, which she reportedly visited frequently when she knew he would be present. She also referred to him and other staff members as "beefy."
Beyond verbal conduct, Henry claims Her engaged in unwanted physical contact. During a budget meeting, he alleges she placed her hand on his upper thigh beneath the conference table. In another instance, Her told Henry that her marriage was troubled and that the two of them "needed to be friends" or "this was not going to work," emphasizing the importance of maintaining a "close relationship."
The lawsuit describes an incident in December when Henry met with Her and St. Paul Port Authority President Todd Hurley at a cigar lounge to discuss relocating the downtown police station. According to the filing, Her threatened to tell people that Henry had grabbed her if she did not get her way on the station move. In February, after Henry and a colleague used personal vacation time to visit a golf simulator in Woodbury, Minnesota, Her showed up unexpectedly. She told them she had to come because they would not invite her, and stayed for about twenty minutes.
After Henry filed an internal complaint about Her's conduct, he alleges that she and her administration launched a deliberate effort to undermine and retaliate against him. City officials, according to the suit, excluded him from decisions, withheld requested records, and released what Henry characterizes as a "sanitized" two-page summary of an independent investigation to minimize the seriousness of her behavior.
Her's office responded through a statement to a local Fox affiliate, saying that an independent investigation "did not substantiate claims of sexual harassment or retaliation against any city employee." The office said Her would continue to lead St. Paul and follow the investigation's recommendations, and declined further comment on the active litigation.
Earlier in September, Her transferred her personal security detail and driver services away from the St. Paul Police Department to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office. The move came as the lawsuit was being prepared for filing. Henry's legal action represents a significant rupture between the city's top law enforcement officer and its elected chief executive, with fundamental disagreements about what occurred and what the independent investigation actually found.
Citações Notáveis
An independent investigation did not substantiate claims of sexual harassment or retaliation against any city employee. The Mayor will continue to lead Saint Paul and follow the recommendations of the report.— Mayor Kaohly Her's office
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