St. Paul releases investigative report into Mayor Kaohly Her

The investigation was prompted by an internal city complaint filed in April by St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry. The chief also filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Her last week renewing several allegations covered in the report. 

The investigation found that Her’s behavior violated city policies, but did not meet the definition of sexual harassment.

Outside law firm Resolute Law LLC conducted the investigation over several months, and completed its findings last month. Her’s office released a written statement and two-page summary of the findings in mid-September. 

The report released Thursday supports claims Henry made that Her placed her hand on his thigh at a meeting, and that she asked him whether the two could be friends. 

Her’s spokesperson said she is declining to comment on the report, citing pending litigation. Henry’s attorney, Chris Madel, did not respond to a request for comment.

Ward 4 Council Member Molly Coleman said in a statement that both she and the public are still processing the findings of the investigation. But, she said, the report makes it clear that the mayor engaged in “absolutely inexcusable” workplace conduct, and that the current relationship between the mayor and the police department is not functional.

“The situation as it currently stands is not tenable, and is not serving the people of Saint Paul,” Coleman said. “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.”

The investigation consisted of interviews with 11 people, including Her and Henry, and a review of more than 55,000 text messages from Her’s personal and city phones. 

The heavily redacted, 76-page report does not disclose Henry’s name or any other names aside from Her’s. But in his lawsuit, Henry has publicly confirmed that the complaint that led to the investigation originated with him. 

Other details Madel revealed through the media and that Henry shared in his lawsuit identify him as the main subject of the redacted report.

Her’s interactions with other city staff are also included in the report.

It also concludes that concerns about Her’s relationship with a city employee who received her “weiner Wednesday” text message are legitimate because it “has the potential to cause problems for the city.”

THowever, the report also saysconcludes that had a male mayor behaved similarly to Her toward female city employees, “there would be no question about inappropriateness of the behavior.” That finding pertains to two incidents — Her sending a text about “weiner Wednesday” to a city employee, and a time she superimposed Henry’s face onto a picture of a mixed martial arts fighter.

The report made seven findings:

1. Her “acted inappropriately” with city employees when she sent the “weiner Wednesday” text. 

The report redacted the name and job title of the employee who received Her’s message, but said the two had developed a friendship. Her “mistakenly believes that because messages were sent on personal devices there should be no issue.”

Her did not write the text accompanying the image that referred to the employee having a “good weinering,” and the employee who received it was “not offended.” However, the report concluded that  “it is unacceptable for her to be texting sexual messages to any City employee.” 

It also concludes that concerns about Her’s relationship with the employee who received her “weiner Wednesday” text message are legitimate because it “has the potential to cause problems for the city.”

The text referred to a weekly tradition where staffers at the mayor’s office and police officers would gather for lunch and eat hot dogs together. 

While the employee in question has not been publicly identified, it is not Henry.

2. Her did not send any additional inappropriate messages to employees beyond the “wiener Wednesday” meme.

The report says the investigation reviewed more than 55,000 text messages from Her’s personal and city phones, and concluded that she didn’t send any additional inappropriate messages to city employees.

3. The report faulted Her for creating and sharing “inappropriate photographs” at police department headquarters. 

This included superimposing Henry’s and other high-rank officers’ faces onto the bodies of mixed martial arts fighters, and placing her own headshot over various framed photographs of officers around the building. 

“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,” the report concludes.

Placing her own photo over others was “odd and could have been addressed by someone simply telling Mayor Her that the conduct was not welcome,” the report says. 

“While it may be true that the Police Department holds ‘Weiner Wednesdays’ and jokes around, it was odd for Mayor Her to come into the Police Department and invade the space with not only her headshot, but also the inappropriately photoshopped pictures,” the report says.

4. Her made inappropriate comments about her breasts to two police officers on different occasions.

The first incident occurred in January when Her, in a conversation with a female police officer, “repeatedly discussed” her own breasts, touched her own breasts, and “made the female employee uncomfortable.”

“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 report reads.

The incident was corroborated by a text message the officer sent to her friend about the incident, according to the report.

During another incident the following month in the police gym, Her allegedly stood near a different female officer “in only her bra and repeatedly asked if her breasts would look appropriate for an upcoming national interview.”

In the mayor’s interview for the investigation, Her denied talking about breasts 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 [redacted].”

5. The report does not substantiate an allegation that Her made sexual noises while stretching in front of officers at the police gym. 

“While some officers reported hearing noises from Mayor Her during her workouts in the Police Department gym that sounded like she was having an orgasm, there were others that denied hearing these noises,” the report reads.

Investigators looked at city video of Her working out at the city fire department gym to support this conclusion.

“Mayor Her does make grunting noises while engaging in demanding physical workouts, but there is no evidence that even if she made these same noises at the Police Department that the noises were sexual in nature,” the report reads.

“Women are allowed to make noises in the gym when lifting heavy weights and the mere fact that Mayor Her may have been loud during her exertion does not mean she was doing so in a sexual manner. Had a man been grunting in the gym, it is unlikely he would be accused of making ‘orgasmic’ noises.”

6. Her did not sexually harass Henry, but did create an “uncomfortable work environment” for him.

Henry “developed a close working relationship” with Her, according to texts between the two that began in November 2025. But, by mid-to-late January 2026, the two had a falling out for unspecified reasons, according to the report. 

After the falling out, Her’s “once welcomed interactions were no longer welcomed,” the report says.

Shortly after Her’s upset victory over former St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter in the 2025 mayor election, she and Henry “expressed respect and support for one another and he invited her to a cigar bar and gave her at least two gifts.”

Their relationship took a “noticeable turn” by January as texts between the two “dramatically decreased.” 

In his complaint, Henry alleged that Her engaged in inappropriate behavior by showing up with another St. Paul police officer at a golf simulator Henry was at while Henry was off duty. The report, however, concludes this wasn’t inappropriate because Henry had “provided the address of the golf simulator to Mayor Her” and that both had “previously texted about golf.” 

The report also does not substantiate Henry’s allegation that Her tried to set up a date with him at Sweeney’s Saloon. Henry alleged that Her told him to meet her at the establishment on a Saturday night without their spouses. The report appears to counter this, although names are redacted.

“Text messages show Her told [redacted] he could bring [redacted] or even [redacted] to the meeting,” the report reads. 

Her did ask Henry whether they were going to be friends, according to the report, which concluded that the question was “inappropriate but not sexual in nature.”

“Although Mayor Her may [have] intended to question whether [redacted] would continue to be someone she could trust, the requirement that a subordinate employee tell Mayor Her whether [redacted] will be ‘friends’ with her is inappropriate,” the report reads. 

Her did not believe the question was inappropriate and still believes that Henry should answer it, according to the report. 

The investigation found that Her touched Henry’s thigh on two occasions and that an individual whose name is redacted witnessed one of the incidents. In interviews for the investigation, Her first denied remembering touching Henry’s thigh and then later said she may have done so but that the intentions weren’t sexual. 

The report did not conclude that the touching was “sexual in nature,” but added that it was “unwelcome and caused considerable discomfort.” 

7. Henry and Her did not retaliate against each other.

Henry accused Her of not including a pay increase for officers in their pensions that Carter had previously authorized. Henry alleged it was retaliation for him rejecting her sexual advances. 

The report says Her did not have control over the pension matter. Her’s request for every city department to cut their budgets in the wake of the city’s challenging financial condition undercuts the retaliation allegation, the report concludes.

The report also rejects Her’s allegation that Henry retaliated against her by attempting to change her personal driver, who is a St. Paul police officer. The issue arose over concerns about the number of overtime hours the driver was racking up. 

“Mayor Her admittedly prefers one officer to serve as her security detail,” the report reads. “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.”

The report concludes that the relationship between Her and Henry is “strained.” They currently communicate about city issues through a mediator, a practice the report concludes is “not a sustainable solution as it does not allow for a free flow of dialogue between these two important City leaders.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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