Golden Valley Mayor Addresses Police Chief Resignation
After spending months on administrative leave, Golden Valley Police Chief Virgil Green resigned on Friday, Oct. 3.
Green had been accused of interfering with an internal investigation and leaking video footage from an active investigation to local news outlets.
Speaking to CCX News on Monday, Golden Valley Mayor Roslyn Harmon said the situation is “very hard — a lot of emotions.”
“All of this has just been really difficult, and you know, there’s two sides right? There’s two sides,” she said. “I was there when we brought Chief Green in, and so, just all of it is just — it’s hard.”
Green had been police chief in Golden Valley since 2022.
He was hired as the police department faced a staffing crisis. More than half of the department’s officers had left before he was hired.
Green made history as the city’s first Black police chief. His hiring was marred by a tense selection process in which there was disagreement on candidate support.
Golden Valley Mayor Roslyn Harmon spoke with CCX News about the resignation of Police Chief Virgil Green.
Resignation Came After Closed Meeting
The city council met the night before his resignation in a closed session citing attorney-client privilege. Agenda materials for the meeting say the council discussed “threatened litigation against the city involving the personnel matter relating to Police Chief Virgil Green.”
Harmon declined to answer questions about what was discussed in that meeting.
However, she said the city is committed to finding an interim police chief to lead the department.
Likewise, Harmon is proposing regular town hall meetings where residents and city leaders can meet to discuss the future.
“I think while all of this is unfortunate and I have my own personal feelings about all that transpired — just not feeling that I was informed up front — and then seeing everything transpire that night at the closed meeting, at the end of the day, what’s done is done and we have to move forward,” she said. “So I’m committed to making sure that we do that in a positive way.”
Separately from issues related to Green, Harmon said she’s concerned about police staff leaving the department.
“We had some high-ranking folks who have been very unhappy and who have vocally expressed to the council their concerns,” Harmon said. “That’s not what we want, right? I think that’s why it’s so important that as a city, we are doing all that we can to make sure that our officers feel heard and that their needs are met.”
