Mary Moriarty on relationship with Minneapolis PD chief: 'He won't return my call'

(FOX 9) - One day after her office announced she would not seek reelection in 2026, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moeriarty spoke with FOX 9’s All Day on an array of topics, including her decision not to serve another term, past criticism she has received and how to handle juvenile crime in the state's largest city.

Moriarty won’t seek re-election

What we know:

Noting that the announcement was likely a surprise to many, Moriarty made public her decision to not seek reelection on Wednesday – 17 months before her term ends.

"We often see people in elected positions continue to seek the role over and over," Moriarty told FOX 9’s All Day. "I made the decision now because it was about time to decide whether I was running for reelection… And that’s a full-time job. When I thought about how I wanted to spend my last year-and-a-half in office… It was much more important to me to do the work than run a campaign."

Moriarty said there was no "boiling point" in the decision process, but rather a culmination of several factors that led to the decision.

"I like to sit with decisions for quite a while, and think about the pros and cons. It was a process,"Moriarty said. "When I got to the point that I was comfortable with my decision, that’s when I was comfortable with telling people."

Charging decision criticism

Dig deeper:

Previously, Moriarty has sparred with elected officials and Minneapolis Police Department Chief Brian O’Hara on her office’s decisions on prosecuting youth caught committing violent crimes.

She also faced wide criticism for the decision to prosecute Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan following the shooting of Ricky Cobb II during a traffic stop in July 2023.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Office Association (MPPOA) later filed an ethics complaint against her over the decision.

However, Moriarty told FOX 9’s All Day that those past criticisms did not factor into her decision.

"Any time you come into a system that is very entrenched in the way it does things, and you come in and try and change things – people push back… People also unfamiliar with how you’re doing things are going to wonder what you’re doing," Moriarty explained to All Day. "Nothing about the push back led me to make this decision. For me, it’s about the work, and I wanted to spend my remaining time doing the work, and remove myself from the equation. All too often, people make me the point of controversy, and not what we’re doing."

Moriarty on juvenile crime

Big picture view:

Throughout her tenure, arguably the most controversial topic surrounding her position has been the handling of cases involving juveniles committing violent crimes, such as robberies and carjackings.

"In the past, [youth offenders] have been let out to the care of a guardian – grandma or whoever – and they continue to engage in violent, risky behavior. We have advocated over and over that there needs to be a place for those kids who are not safe to be in the community," Moriarty told All Day. "We don’t have those resources right now, but our office has been a leading advocate for them. There needs to be something done, but there aren’t the resources now… Where my frustration comes in is that there are many unhelpful narratives out there. [Chief O’Hara] tends to talk about a revolving door, claiming we don’t charge kids. I think that’s very unhelpful, and not true."

FOX 9 has reported extensively on the crisis within the juvenile justice system, with younger and younger offenders committing more and more violent crimes, including shootings, carjackings and armed robberies.

The issue has led to finger-pointing between the Minneapolis Police Department and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

In recent years, law enforcement have complained that they can have dozens of contacts with a juvenile offender as young as 10 years old, but they often return to the streets to commit more crimes.

"It’s not pointing fingers to say we need to identify the gaps in the system," Moriarty said.

Moriarty said that Minneapolis will see roughly 7,500 car thefts in 2023, but fewer than 200 were brought to her office for charging decision.

"Deterrents are about the uncertainty of getting caught – not about long sentences," Moriarty said. "If you’re somebody stealing cars, and you know the certainty of you getting caught is less than 2%, there’s absolutely no deterrence there… We can’t do anything if police aren’t bringing us the case."

When asked if she would be open to a conversation with O’Hara, Moriarty said, "I’ll tell you this – he won’t return my call. I’d be happy to talk about what’s happening, but he won’t return my call, and has not for probably over a year. I can’t speak to why he doesn’t speak to me, and why MPD won’t do a press conference with us."

Minneapolis Police respond

What they're saying:

The Minneapolis Police Department responded Thursday night to Moriarty's assertion that O'Hara won't return her call.

"Hennepin County Attorney Moriarty has not called the Chief in over a year. Our investigators continue to work daily with the career prosecutors at the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office," the department said.

Hennepin CountyCrime and Public SafetyMinneapolis