‘The day of reckoning is coming’: Brian O’Hara warns of 'another tragedy' amid escalating rhetoric

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Brian O’Hara is warning that rhetoric and rising tension over the recent death of Renee Nicole Good could lead to “yet another tragedy.”

The chief said he fears the situation could spark unrest similar to the riots the city faced in 2020 following the death of George Floyd.

Brian O’Hara warns Trump rhetoric could spark unrest

On Wednesday, January 14, in an interview with CNN, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara was asked about a social media post from Donald Trump that told people to "FEAR NOT" because a "THE DAY OF RECKONING AND RETRIBUTION IS COMING."

The chief responded, "I have been concerned for several weeks about the escalating situation that’s been unfolding on our streets."

He explained that the recent death was something he feared was coming, stating, "Hours before this woman was killed, I was telling people very publicly that I was worried a tragedy was going to happen and that is what has happened."

He said that "no one wins when we have a loss of life" and urged people to calm tensions before the situation worsens.

O’Hara further cautioned, "I’m concerned that the rhetoric keeps escalating, that the tensions keep rising, that we are headed towards yet another tragedy and a potential trigger to what happened here yet again in 2020."

Earlier, following the incident, he told CBS Mornings that he hopes people can put politics aside and recognize that a death is always a tragedy.

He asked the community not to do anything that would "compound that by having a situation which can result in destruction or further harms this community, which has been through so much over the last five years."

Police chief criticizes ICE tactics after Renee Good shooting

The shooting occurred on January 7 during an ICE operation, when federal agents said Renee Nicole Good attempted to strike them with her vehicle.

While Brian O’Hara acknowledged that ICE has long operated in Minnesota, he was sharply critical of the “chaos” he said current enforcement methods are creating.

In an interview with the New York Times, O’Hara said local police are often left to manage the fallout, stating, "A lot of the disturbances and chaos that have been happening here, as a result of the manner in which some federal enforcement activity is happening, is requiring our officers to respond to situations and try and restore the peace situations where oftentimes they themselves then become the target of people’s frustration."

Brian O'Hara calls for better planning 

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara clarified that the issue is not the enforcement of immigration laws, but how those laws are being enforced. He said that if operations were better planned and more narrowly targeted at criminals, other law enforcement agencies would be more likely to support them.

However, he stressed that “it’s not necessarily about which laws are being enforced, it’s about how that enforcement is happening.” 

O’Hara warned that using “tactics that generally are not viewed as sound” puts everyone at risk, including both police officers and the public.