A newly released investigative report into St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her reveals far more than the two-page summary initially released by the city, detailing unwanted touching, a sexually suggestive meme and multiple violations of the city’s workplace conduct policy.
Investigators substantiated three policy violations involving a sexually suggestive message, doctored photographs of male police officers and inappropriate encounters with two female employees.
They also confirmed that Her touched Police Chief Axel Henry’s thigh in an unwelcome manner that caused him considerable discomfort and inappropriately pressured him to decide whether they would be friends.
Yet investigators did not substantiate sexual harassment or retaliation.
Henry’s attorney, Chris Madel, accused the city of downplaying the findings.
“The City’s original summary was a taxpayer-funded attempt to make the Mayor look good. If that summary is not the quintessential definition of ‘whitewash,’ I don’t know what is,” Madel said.
And now, taxpayers are picking up the tab for the mayor’s legal defense. The St. Paul City Council voted unanimously, 5-0, to hire outside attorneys at a rate of up to $500 an hour to defend Her in a sexual harassment lawsuit recently brought by Chief Henry.
The mayor’s hand on the police chief’s thigh
One of the report’s most significant findings involves a March 18 budget meeting, when Henry alleges Her twice reached beneath a conference room table and placed her hand on his thigh.
According to Henry, Her complained that she couldn’t see the numbers on a screen. He offered to switch seats, but she declined and wheeled her chair next to him.
Henry told investigators that Her placed her hand approximately “40% up his leg”. A short time later, he alleged, she did it again, reaching approximately “60% up his leg.”
Henry pushed his chair away, and he wasn’t the only one who noticed. Another employee witnessed at least one of the touches and later discussed the uncomfortable encounter with Henry.
Her initially acknowledged that she “may have touched” his leg but insisted the contact wasn’t sexual. In a subsequent interview, she said she could no longer recall touching him.
Investigators concluded that the touching was unwelcome and caused Henry considerable discomfort. They did not, however, substantiate that it was sexual in nature.
Madel questioned that conclusion.
“Chief Henry shouldn’t have to explain why conduct that would be career-ending for a male mayor is somehow excusable when the perpetrator is female,” Madel said.
Her claims Henry commented on her body every day
While Henry accused the mayor of making unwanted advances, Her had allegations of her own.
She told investigators that Henry commented on her body every day, complimented her dresses and occasionally remarked that they emphasized the right places.
She claimed those comments were part of the police department’s workplace culture. In a subsequent interview, she went further, alleging Henry commented on her body and appearance every time he saw her.
Madel had a pointed response.
“Mayor Her claims Chief Henry commented on her body every time he saw her. My God. She’s nuts.”
One witness recalled Henry saying the mayor looked good, complimenting a color she was wearing and observing that she hadn’t repeated an outfit. The witness placed those comments in January at the start of their working relationship.
The report does not establish that Henry commented on Her’s body every day, as she alleged.
Uncomfortable encounters at the gym
Investigators substantiated two additional complaints involving female police department employees.
On Jan. 14, one employee said Her repeatedly discussed and touched her own breasts while asking about their appearance. The employee sent a friend a text message that same day describing the uncomfortable encounter.
Her disputed the allegation, but investigators found the employee credible.
A second woman described an encounter in the police gym’s locker room in February. She said Her stood near her wearing only a bra and repeatedly asked whether her breasts would look appropriate for an upcoming national interview. The woman also alleged that Her complimented her breasts.
Her disputed that account, saying the women had discussed aging and exchanged compliments.
Investigators concluded that both encounters violated the city’s workplace conduct policy.
The report also addressed allegations that Her made sexual noises while exercising at the police gym. Some officers said she sounded like she was having an orgasm, while others heard nothing unusual.
Investigators did not substantiate the allegation, writing that “women are allowed to make noises in the gym when lifting heavy weights.”
Sexual meme and shirtless police officers
The report substantiated two additional policy violations involving the mayor’s conduct.
On March 25, Her sent two officers a sexually suggestive meme inspired by the department’s informal “Weiner Wednesday” hot dog tradition.
The caption read, “When she wraps you up in her blanket after you gave her a good weinering.”
Her had inserted a police employee’s photograph into the image before sending it. Both recipients told investigators they weren’t offended. Her also argued that the exchange occurred on personal phones.
Investigators rejected those explanations, concluding that the message violated city policy.
“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,” the report states.
There was also the matter of the altered photographs.
Her created and distributed doctored images depicting Henry and other male officers as UFC fighters and bodybuilders wearing little more than shorts. She placed the pictures around police headquarters, including inside Henry’s office.
Her maintained that she was simply matching the department’s joking culture.
Investigators disagreed, concluding that the photographs crossed professional boundaries and violated city policy.
They offered another comparison.
“Similarly, had Chief Henry photoshopped Mayor Her and female members of her administration in bikinis and posted the pictures up around Mayor Her’s office, the behavior would be unacceptable.”
Investigators also rejected Her’s claim that officers initially didn’t know she was responsible for placing altered photographs over command staff portraits. A witness had caught her in the act and stopped her.
Her’s account, investigators wrote, was “not credible.”
Be my friend or lose your job?
The report also examines a Feb. 28 meeting at Sweeney’s, where Henry says Her presented him with three options: Be her friend, remain merely an employee or leave.
Her acknowledged telling Henry that if they couldn’t maintain a productive working relationship, “he would not be the Chief.”
She also told investigators she still expected Henry to answer her question.
Investigators concluded that requiring a subordinate to decide whether he would be the mayor’s friend was inappropriate, particularly given her authority over him.
Conclusion
Following her initial June 8 interview, Her spoke with investigators four more times, including two additional interviews she requested after news reports revealed further details of the allegations against her. She said she would have denied the accusations more emphatically had she known those details earlier.
Ultimately, investigators did not substantiate sexual harassment or retaliation allegations against Her, nor did they substantiate her retaliation allegations against Henry.
But the investigation did substantiate three violations of the city’s workplace conduct policy.
In a Sept. 18 statement, Her acknowledged becoming too informal with employees and crossing workplace boundaries.
“I apologize for any discomfort I caused,” she said, pledging to undergo workplace conduct training and hire an executive coach at her own expense.
But Henry’s attorney, Christopher Madel, isn’t buying the mayor’s explanation.
“Mayor Her apparently believes that being the Mayor comes with a special exemption from St. Paul’s workplace conduct policies. She can photoshop officers into revealing outfits, send sexually explicit memes, make female employees uncomfortable discussing her breasts, touch a man’s thigh under a conference room table, make orgasm sounds in the police gym, and I guess we’re all supposed to laugh. It’s pathetic.”
Henry’s lawsuit brings six counts against the city and Her, including sexual harassment, retaliation, whistleblower and battery claims. He is seeking damages, attorney’s fees and costs and is demanding a jury trial.
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.
