Golden Valley Police Chief resigns following internal investigations

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. (FOX 9) - After multiple investigations spanning several months, Golden Valley announced the resignation of former police chief Virgil Green. 

The city announced he was placed on administrative leave back in June, but documents show he was initially placed on leave in late May. At the time, officials only confirmed it was due to a complaint, and couldn't share the nature of it. 

Golden Valley Police Chief investigation 

Data breach:

The memorandum details an investigation that focused on the police chief's release of body-worn camera footage, related to a criminal case that was still pending, to a local news organization. 

The investigation concluded that Green violated Minnesota statutes by releasing the footage to the media without the consent of the parties involved while the investigation was active. 

While meeting with city officials, Green explained that he released the footage because he intended to be transparent with the public. However, the memorandum notes that he made this decision without consulting city leadership. 

According to the memorandum, Green said he understood he "made a mistake" and never intended to violate any policy or statute. 

Internal interference:

Another memorandum determined that Green "failed to comply" in an internal affairs investigation and actively tried to halt and downplay the incident.

The nature of the allegation is not clear based on the heavily redacted memorandum.  

Investigators also found he improperly interfered with the investigation by "attempting to quash the investigation by intimidation directives and side dealing, conduct that contravenes City policies and state law."

What they're saying:

City Manager Noah Schuchman released the following statement on the resignation:

"Chief Green joined us at a critical time, and we thank him for all he did for the City of Golden Valley, its police force and the community in his time here. We will be sharing details regarding the search for a new Chief of Police soon. I want to thank Assistant Chiefs White and Perez for their leadership and commitment over the past few months."

Robbinsdale school incident

The backstory:

The initial incident stemmed from a fight at Robbinsdale Academy-Highview, which led to a girl suffering a concussion and needing stitches. 

The fight involved the use of brass knuckles, which escalated the crime to a felony. 

However, Golden Valley Police say the assistant principal would not cooperate in their efforts to find the weapon.

"We did not leave the school that day with those brass knuckles," Green said.

Only later, after executing a search warrant, does Green say the assistant principal surrendered the brass knuckles to authorities.

"This was something that was most likely in his possession [on] the day of the fight, that should’ve been turned over immediately," Green said.

READ MORE: Golden Valley Police call for felony charge against local school administrator

The memorandum states that Green agreed to an interview with a local news organization to present the facts of the case and the conflicting information and allowed the unredacted video to be recorded. 

The memorandum says this violated a Minnesota state statute, which says, "investigative data collected or created by a law enforcement agency in order to prepare a case against a person, whether known or unknown, for the commission of a crime or other offense for which the agency has primary investigative responsibility are confidential or protected nonpublic while the investigation is active…."