ST, PAUL, Minn. — St. Paul released the full report Thursday of the outside investigation the city commissioned after Police Chief Axel Henry made claims of sexual harassment against Mayor Kaohly Her, which says attorneys did not substantiate the mayor sexually harassed him but found she “created an uncomfortable work environment” for him.

Her, who was elected in November, described what she regarded as an initial friendship with Henry, according to interviews with the investigating attorneys. But she said they argued when she began asking questions of him during Operation Metro Surge in January.

“Mayor Her stated that the relationship has been on a continual downhill spiral since then,” according to the report.

Her’s office had previously made public a two-page summary of the report by St. Paul’s human resources director. Her and Henry first received redacted copies of the full report late Wednesday.

Resolute Law LLC, the firm that conducted the investigation and wrote the report, heavily redacted the public version of the report — including the names of everyone interviewed by the firm, except for Her, and other information. A St. Paul official said the city paid $43,933 to the firm for the investigation and report.

The 73-page report provides more information about what the city’s HR director summarized in a Sept. 17 letter to Her. The investigation did not substantiate allegations that Her “engaged in sexual harassment of any city employee,” but found she “engaged in offensive and inappropriate behavior,” the letter said.

Henry’s attorney, Chris Madel, said in a Thursday statement: “The City’s original summary reads like it was written by the Mayor’s personal defense attorney after being given one instruction: make this all go away.”

Madel also said: “If the elected members of St. Paul want to do the right thing, it’s very clear. They must call for this mayor’s immediate resignation. If they don’t, they condone sexual harassment. It’s pretty simple.”

St. Paul City Council Member Molly Coleman said Thursday that the Council and public “are still processing the findings of the external investigation that were made public today, but the findings of that investigation make clear both that the Mayor engaged in absolutely inexcusable workplace conduct and that there is not at present a functional relationship between the Mayor and the Police Department.”

“The situation as it currently stands is not tenable, and is not serving the people of St. Paul,” Coleman continued. “I’m looking to the Mayor to show us, quickly, that there’s a path forward; until and unless that happens, every option needs to be on the table.”

Attorneys Dyan Ebert and Cally Kjellberg-Nelson, who the city hired to conduct the investigation, wrote that while the investigation was pending, the police department and mayor’s office “continued to operate as expected.”

“The interactions between Mayor Her and (Henry) have been limited, but strained,” said the report completed by Resolute Law, which is based in St. Cloud. “Each side has accused the other of retaliation.”

They wrote a temporary solution was to assign Erica Schumacher, first assistant mayor, safety and justice, “as the intermediary between Mayor Her” and Henry, but added it “is not a sustainable solution as it does not allow for a free flow of dialogue between these two important City leaders.”

Henry filed a lawsuit against Her and the city on Sept. 23 alleging sexual harassment and retaliation.

“Because the Chief of Police has brought suit and this matter is in litigation in Ramsey County District Court, the Mayor will not be responding further at this time,” spokesperson Matt Wagenius said Thursday. “The Mayor will be vigorously defending against the lawsuit claims through the court system.”

‘Weiner Wednesday’ texts

Resolute Law’s report says their investigation substantiated that “Mayor Her has acted inappropriately with City employees” by sending “Weiner Wednesday” texts on March 25.

The texts included a picture of a St. Paul officer, who sometimes worked on Her’s security detail, photoshopped onto a swaddled baby. Included in the message was the wording: “When she wraps you up in her blanket after you gave her a good weinering.”

The report said Her “mistakenly believes that because the messages were sent and received on personal devices that there should be no issue,” the report said. “The investigation confirmed Mayor Her did not write the line above the picture ‘When she wraps you up in her blanket after you gave her a good weinering’ because that was a meme created by the content creator Savage Dynasty on March 21, 2026.”

But “regardless of whether Mayor Her drafted the words, the content of the meme is sexual in nature and inappropriate,” the report said. “Mayor Her also took the time to photoshop into the meme created by Savage Dynasty.”

The report continued: “Had a male mayor sent this type of text to two younger, female officers, there would be no question about the inappropriateness of the behavior. While it is understood Mayor Her may feel she has developed personal friendships with (redacted), her behavior puts the City at risk given her position of authority over the officers. Regardless of the friendship that has developed between Mayor Her and (redacted), it is unacceptable for her to be texting sexual messages to any City employee.”

Not sexual harassment, but uncomfortable work environment

Though names were redacted in the report, there is information that matches allegations included in the lawsuit that Henry filed against Her.

The report says the “investigation did not substantiate the allegations that Mayor Her was sexually harassing” Henry, “but it did substantiate that Mayor Her created an uncomfortable work environment for” him.

Text messages exchanged between them, beginning in November when Her was elected mayor, “confirm the two developed a close working relationship,” the report said. “Both expressed respect and support for one another. (Henry) provided Mayor Her at least two gifts and invited her to a cigar bar.”

“Members of the Police Department expressed sincere appreciation for Mayor Her and her support of the officers,” the report continued.

From November through December 2025 and until approximately mid-January 2026, Her believed there was a friendship.

But “once she began pushing back, she noticed a change,” the report said. Mayor Her stated that she and a person, whose name was redacted in the report — but who sources say was Henry — “had two arguments about how to respond to Metro Surge.”

ICE raids caused tensions

Before Her became mayor, there was tension between the police department, the city council and some community members over a November federal immigration operation on Rose Avenue, during which a crowd gathered in anger and protest.

St. Paul Council member HwaJeong Kim, who went to Rose Avenue as the situation unfolded, said St. Paul officers sprayed her with chemical irritant and she was struck by a less-lethal munition deployed by police. People who were present have described similar uses of force, and it’s been documented in numerous videos.

Her talked about people encouraging her to investigate the police department regarding the incident and she told Resolute Law “there was an internal investigation and that the internal investigation was still pending,” according to the report.

Meanwhile, Her described a good working relationship with the police department at first. She said Henry invited her to a cigar club “and that she was the first woman involved in that setting,” according to the report.

She said officers asked her to work out at the police department gym, she was picked each morning to go and Henry told her officers like seeing her there.

On July 31, after the investigation became publicly known, Her was upset about news articles and requested a follow-up phone interview with Resolute Law. She said she’d never exposed her breasts, as a female officer had alleged. She also said she’d heard Henry’s attorney, Madel, saying on the radio that she wanted to sleep with Henry “and she wanted it to be clear that she never wanted that.”

“Mayor Her believes the complaint by (Henry) is only because (he) is not happy she is digging into the budget and because she was upset about the arrests of protesters that occurred under an expired ordinance,” according to the report of what she said. “(Henry) did not like that she asked questions and was making (him) accountable.”

In another interview with Resolute Law, she said the first conflict between her and Henry arose after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.

They had a “major argument” on Jan. 12 when Her asked Henry where he “would draw the line in deciding whether to stand between ICE agents and residents,” Her said in the report’s summary. “According to Mayor Her, (Henry) responded that would intervene if (he) saw ICE placing people in chokeholds. She stated that they then had a philosophical disagreement regarding different truths and the disparate treatment of Black and Brown people.”

On Jan. 14, she and Henry discussed the issue again and he directed her to leave his office, she reported.

In late February, ICE agents drew their weapons on observers on St. Paul’s West Side and St. Paul officers responded but remained about two blocks away, Her said, according to the report.

“She stated that community members were upset and that she discussed the response with” Henry. She said she raised her voice and stated “that she could not continue defending the Police Department if it did not do what it said it would do,” Her said.

Her also characterized Henry as insisting he “is in charge and that the Mayor cannot control the department,” according to the report.

Report: Bar meeting not a ‘date,’ but friendship questions inappropriate

Henry “alleged Mayor Her attempted to set up a ‘date’ with” him at Sweeney’s Saloon on Dale Street on Feb. 28, the report said.

Text messages “demonstrate this contention is not credible,” the report said. “… A review of text messages relating to the meeting confirmed that Mayor Her explicitly told” Henry he could bring other people to the meeting.

“Mayor Her indicated she wanted the time to get to know each other better, but there is no evidence to support the contention that she was treating the meeting as a ‘date,'” according to the report.

“The investigation confirmed that during the meeting at Sweeney’s, Mayor Her posed a set of options to (Henry) that included a request for (him) to decide whether the two were going to be ‘friends’ or not,” the report said.

“Mayor Her still believes (Henry) should have to answer that question,” the report continued. “Although Mayor Her may (have) intended to question whether (Henry) would continue to be someone she could trust, the requirement that a subordinate employee tell Mayor Her whether (he) will be “friends” with her is inappropriate. However, the investigation did not sustain the contention that this demand for an answer was sexual in nature.”

Henry’s lawsuit described an instance of Her going to Woodbury to surprise him at a golf simulator while he was on vacation.

Resolute Law found that “given the apparent friendship that developed between Mayor Her” and Henry, “the investigation did not substantiate that there was anything inappropriate about Mayor Her surprising (Henry) and another officer at a golf simulator on Feb. 6, 2026.”

Hand on thigh allegation

At a March 18 budget meeting, Henry alleged Her placed her hand on his thigh two times. His lawsuit said it was his upper thigh and the assistant police chief witnessed it.

Her initially told Resolute Law “she may have touched” his leg, “but denied that the touch was sexual in nature. At her last interview, Mayor Her could not recall ever touching” his leg, the report said.

Resolute Law said while their investigation “did not substantiate a determination that the touch was sexual in nature, the investigation did substantiate the touch was unwelcome and caused considerable discomfort to” Henry “given Mayor Her’s recent demand that (he) choose whether to be her ‘friend’ or not.”

“Overall, the testimony and text messages demonstrate a friendship developed between Mayor Her and (Henry) beginning in December 2025,” the report said. “The investigation did not substantiate that any of the conversations between Mayor Her and (Henry) were sexual in nature. However, once (Henry) became uncomfortable with the friendship, the once welcomed interactions were no longer welcomed.”

‘Offensive’ behavior with two female employees

Resolute Law “substantiated the allegations that Mayor Her engaged in offensive and inappropriate behavior with two female City employees,” the report said.

In January, “it is alleged that Mayor Her engaged in a discussion with a female Police Department employee in which Mayor Her repeatedly discussed her breasts, touched her breasts, and made the female employee uncomfortable,” according to the report. “Although Mayor Her does not recall this incident taking place and denies that she would have discussed her breasts or touched her breasts in front of this employee, the evidence corroborates the employee’s version of events.”

The employee sent a text message to her friend that day that “references the uncomfortable interaction and Mayor Her’s question about the appearance of Mayor Her’s breasts,” the report said and added that Her’s actions were a violation of the city’s workplace conduct policy on offensive behavior.

In February, a police department employee alleged Her “discussed her breasts with her in the locker room of the Police Department gym,” the report said. “Specifically, (the employee) alleges Mayor Her stood near her in only her bra and repeatedly asked if her breasts would look appropriate for an upcoming national interview.”

The employee “also alleges Mayor Her approached her and complimented (her) breasts,” the report said. “Mayor Her denies engaging in a conversation about breasts with (the employee) and instead testified that both were discussing the changes women’s bodies undergo with age. According to Mayor Her, the women exchanged compliments and she denies exposing her breasts to (the employee).”

Resolute Law wrote that “while there is no strong corroborating evidence to support (the employee’s) version of events, there are others in the Police Department who corroborated hearing (the employee) say she had an uncomfortable interaction with Mayor Her in the women’s locker room. Given the prior incident involving the other female employee from January 2026, it is more likely than not that the discussion about women’s changing bodies included a discussion about Mayor Her’s breasts.”

Her “likely thought she was developing friendships with those in the Police Department,” but the employee “credibly reported that she was uncomfortable with the conversation and it was a violation of the City’s Workplace Conduct policy relating to offensive behavior.”

Retaliation not found

The investigation did not substantiate Henry’s or Her’s allegations they retaliated against one another.

Henry alleged Her retaliated against him when he didn’t accept her advances, saying this occurred through the budget process for the police department and issues with contributions to the Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association.

The Resolute Law report says: “First, there is no evidence to support the contention that Mayor Her had any control or influence in whether the Police Department’s pay increase approved by Mayor (Melvin) Carter was to be contributed to the officers’ pensions. Second, Mayor Her asked every Department to evaluate their expenses and make cuts to the budget. Given the City’s overall financial position, there is no evidence Mayor Her singled out the Police Department in her efforts to make budgetary cuts.”

Meanwhile, Her alleged Henry retaliated against her “by attempting to change her driver schedule.”

Each St. Paul mayor is assigned a St. Paul police officer who serves as the elected official’s driver and executive protection officer.

“Mayor Her admittedly prefers one officer to serve as her security detail,” the Resolute Law report said. “She works long hours which necessarily equates into long hours for the officer assigned to her. While Mayor Her may feel more comfortable with the officer she has chosen, the investigation confirmed that the financial impact of this decision is considerable.”

Police department staff “wanted to address the significant overtime being incurred,” the report said. “The two-shift model proposed by the Police Department was reasonable and would have saved the Police Department money — an important consideration in light of the budgetary issues facing the City.”

In September, the mayor’s office notified the police department that Her no longer wanted to have a sworn officer as part of her security detail, according to the police department. The Ramsey County sheriff’s office is now providing security to Her.

Photoshopped pictures violated workplace conduct policy

“The investigation confirmed that Mayor Her photoshopped several pictures” and placed them at the police department, the report said, concluding that two were violations of the city’s workplace conduct policy on offensive material.

Henry’s lawsuit said Her placed a picture of shirtless bodybuilders wearing compression shorts in Henry’s office with the faces of Henry and two other St. Paul officers photoshopped into the image.

Another picture was of UFC fighters, whose faces were altered to those of St. Paul officers. Their bare chests were partially covered by UFC belts. “Like the bodybuilder picture, Mayor Her placed Chief Henry’s face on the body of a UFC fighter with a prominent bulge in the crotch area of a man’s compression shorts,” Henry’s lawsuit said.

The report concluded: “Once again, had a male mayor photoshopped female police officers in such minimal amount of clothing, there would be no question about the inappropriateness of the behavior.”

“Mayor Her’s explanation that she was simply ‘matching the culture’ of the Police Department does not excuse the behavior,” the report continued. “Although Mayor Her may have been told by individuals that the photoshopped pictures were funny, the pictures depicting officers in minimal amounts of clothing crossed a boundary that a person in Mayor Her’s position should know would be unacceptable.”

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Frederick Melo contributed to this report.

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