Tyler Timberlake Fired from Minneapolis Police Department—Emails Suggest Chief O’Hara Knew About His Problematic Past

As of last week, Tyler Timberlake has been relieved of his duties as a Minneapolis police officer, according to the department.

The former MPD officer also used to work for Fairfax County, Virginia but left after 2020 body cam footage went viral in which he hit and used his taser on a Black man while the man was pinned down to the ground during an arrest.

Timberlake was hired by MPD in January of this year and soon after, activists demanded that he be fired.

Earlier this year, Chief O’Hara put out a statement claiming he had no previous knowledge of Timberlake’s past. The statement read, “I am extremely concerned about what I have just learned pertaining to the hiring of this individual who is currently in agency training and yet to be deployed into service.”

However, emails sent from Timberlake to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey this Spring suggest O’Hara knew about the incident. One email read, “These statements have been harmful to my reputation by, among other things, implying that the chief had no knowledge of my prior work history or my hiring at MPD when, in fact, he was involved in my hiring, or worse suggesting that I was dishonest and less than forthcoming during the hiring process.”

The email continued, “Chief O'Hara found it easier to defame me than to own the truth which will show that he interviewed me and approved of my hire after a full discourse of events."

Chief O’Hara claims he sat in on Timberlake’s interview during his second day as chief, but the incident in Fairfax County was not mentioned at that time.

The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis has also put out a statement condemning the department’s firing of Timberlake.

What do y’all make of all of this?