St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry is suing Democratic Mayor Kaohly Her, alleging she sexually harassed him and other police employees and retaliated against him after he reported it.
Attorney Chris Madel filed the lawsuit Wednesday against Her and the city of St. Paul, demanding a jury trial, according to the complaint that was filed Wednesday.
The lawsuit comes less than a week after the city released a two-page summary of its investigation that claimed allegations of sexual harassment or retaliation were not substantiated but found Her engaged in “offensive and inappropriate behavior.”
Madel called the summary a “sanitized, self-serving whitewash” and demanded the city release the full investigative report, which has not been made public.
“These people spent years insisting there’s zero tolerance for sexual harassment — until it became inconvenient,” Madel told Alpha News.
Henry’s lawsuit now details what he alleges happened behind the scenes — including sexually suggestive comments, altered photographs and unwanted physical contact.
Henry alleges mayor placed hand on his upper thigh
Among the most serious allegations is an encounter Henry says occurred during a March 18 budget meeting attended by several city and police employees.
By that point, Henry alleges he had already experienced months of unwanted and increasingly personal conduct from Her and had begun taking steps to avoid being alone with her.
At the meeting, Henry says he deliberately “sat as far away from Mayor Her as he could.”
When Her said she could not see numbers displayed on a television screen, Henry, who was seated next to the screen, offered to switch seats with her so they could maintain their distance.
“No, I’ll come over there,” Her allegedly responded before pulling a chair next to him.
According to the complaint, Her then placed her left hand on Henry’s upper right thigh beneath the conference table.
The first time, Her’s fingers were allegedly “spread across Chief Henry’s middle and upper thigh.”
The second time, the lawsuit alleges, Her placed her hand farther up his leg, near his “hip crease … with her fingers extending toward the area of his groin.”
Henry says he was initially too shocked to react. But the second time Her placed her hand on his upper thigh, “Chief Henry pushed away from the table to get away from Mayor Her.”
The complaint says that after the meeting, Assistant Chief Paul Ford, who had been seated on the other side of Henry, told Henry he saw Her put her hand on Henry’s upper thigh.
Altered photos allegedly placed in Henry’s office
The lawsuit also details a series of photographs Her allegedly altered of Henry and other SPPD employees — including images the complaint describes as depicting the men as bodybuilders and UFC fighters with “prominent bulges in the crotch area of their compression shorts.”
According to the complaint, Her first removed a personal framed photograph from Henry’s office without his knowledge. The original photo showed Henry with Deputy Chief Jeff Stiff and Sgt. Toy Vixayvong at an event where Vixayvong was named the City of St. Paul Detective of the Year.
The lawsuit alleges Her then created several altered versions of photographs featuring the three men.
In one, their faces were placed on the bodies of shirtless, muscular men wearing tight compression shorts.
Her also allegedly created an altered image depicting Henry and two other SPPD officials as members of a boy band.
Her also allegedly created an image placing Henry’s and other officers’ faces on the bodies of UFC fighters with prominent bulges in the crotch area.
Her then allegedly printed the altered images, put them in gold frames and placed them in Henry’s office, replacing the photograph she had removed.
The lawsuit argues the incident would have been treated differently had the roles been reversed.
“Chief Henry knew that if he altered a photograph to place a woman’s image, let alone the Mayor of St. Paul, to replace the face of a female bodybuilder wearing a bikini, he would be immediately terminated,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit alleges Her also altered photo displays inside police headquarters by placing photographs of herself over images of SPPD officials and others.
In one instance, then-Deputy Chief Shari Falkowski allegedly interrupted Her as she attempted to cover Falkowski’s photograph.
According to the complaint, Falkowski told the mayor she had “worked very hard to have her picture on that wall” and did not want it covered.
‘I can give you a ride home’
The lawsuit also details a Feb. 28 Saturday-night work dinner between Henry and Her that was initially supposed to take place at Mancini’s Char House.
According to the complaint, Her suggested Mancini’s but changed the location after learning the restaurant did not serve THC-infused beverages which she “stated she wanted to be able to drink.”
The meeting was moved to Sweeney’s Saloon, where the lawsuit says THC drinks were available. Once there, Henry alleges the conversation became increasingly personal.
Her allegedly discussed problems in her marriage, said her career had “wrecked” her marriage, and told Henry she was frequently alone at home at night — including that Saturday night.
Her drank THC-infused beverages while Henry drank nonalcoholic beer, according to the complaint.
When Her asked why he was not drinking alcohol, Henry said he did not want to drink and drive.
“I can give you a ride home. You should have some drinks,” Her allegedly responded.
Henry declined.
The lawsuit says Her repeatedly pressed Henry about the nature of their relationship, asking, “Do you want to be friends, colleagues, or neither?”
Confused by the question, Henry responded that he wanted to be friends in the same way he was with other work colleagues. Her allegedly told him that “if he wanted to be her friend, they must work closely together.”
Henry attempted to steer the conversation back to city business, but the complaint says Her continued pressing him to choose between being her friend, being simply an employee or colleague, or “go” — which Henry understood to mean resign.
When Henry pointed out that he had agreed to meet with her on a Saturday night, Her allegedly replied, “I’m the Mayor, you had to.”
Henry then directly addressed what he viewed as the power imbalance between them.
“There is a power dynamic here you aren’t accounting for,” Henry allegedly told her. “You are the mayor, you can fire me; I can’t fire you.”
‘MILF’ remark
The lawsuit describes several other encounters Henry considered sexual in nature.
At a Feb. 19 police academy graduation, Her allegedly noticed an “MFF” ribbon on Henry’s uniform, which stood for Mobile Field Force.
“Oh, I thought it said MILF so maybe I could get one,” Her allegedly said, referring to the vulgar phrase “mother I’d like to f–k.”
Henry responded, “No,” and walked away, the complaint states.
By March, Henry alleges he was taking steps to avoid being alone with Her.
In the lawsuit, he claims he tried to ensure witnesses were present, avoided her attempts to hug him or sit beside him and even pretended to take phone calls so he could enter meetings last and choose a seat away from her.
Henry files sexual harassment complaint
As Alpha News previously reported, Henry filed a formal complaint against Her on March 26 after learning that the alleged conduct extended beyond his own interactions with the mayor.
Those allegations included Her sending staff a “Weiner Wednesday” message featuring a photoshopped image of an SPPD officer with the caption, “When she wraps you up in her blanket after you gave her a good weinering.”
A former deputy chief also accused Her of commenting on the size of her own breasts before complimenting the deputy chief’s breasts.
Henry also alleges Her made sexually suggestive noises while working out in the SPPD gym.
“At least four witnesses told the City’s investigators that Mayor Her made grunting and moaning noises that sounded like she was having an orgasm,” the complaint states.
Lawsuit alleges retaliation
Henry alleges the city retaliated against him after he reported Her, including by publicly disputing his allegations, questioning his motives, excluding him from personnel decisions and interfering with his authority as police chief.
The lawsuit also claims Her’s administration sought to discredit Henry after he filed his sexual harassment complaint.
Henry points to an August 2026 report by KSTP reporter Jay Kolls that suggested the chief filed the complaint because he was upset about the SPPD budget.
The lawsuit alleges Kolls reported Her’s “talking points” and, “upon information and belief,” that the report was “induced by Mayor Her’s public-relations firm to spread lies about Chief Henry’s motives.” It further alleges Kolls did not contact Henry or his representatives for comment before publication.
“I’m amazed that many members of Minnesota’s media have simply accepted the City’s purported summary as fact,” Madel said. “The St. Paul Pioneer Press even said that the Mayor was ‘cleared’ without reading the report. These are not journalists; they’re shills.”
Henry brings six counts against the city and Her, including sexual harassment, retaliation, whistleblower and battery claims. He is asking the court to order the city to release the full investigative report and is seeking damages, attorney’s fees and costs.
Henry is demanding a jury trial.
“They’re not defending a principle — they’re defending a person,” Madel told Alpha News. “Principle was quietly shown the door.”
Alpha News reached out to Mayor Her’s office for comment. This story will be updated if a response is received.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
