Golden Valley Mayor Raises Concerns About Police Staffing with Chief Still on Leave
It’s been about a month since the city of Golden Valley put its police chief on administrative leave.
A city spokesperson confirmed that there’s an ongoing investigation into a complaint that was brought against Chief Virgil Green.
However, the spokesperson declined to offer additional details citing state data privacy laws.
Golden Valley Mayor Roslyn Harmon said the lack of public information on the chief’s leave has her feeling uneasy.
“As mayor, I should have been given a heads up if there’d been concerns,” she said. “And so to have gotten a heads up after he’d was already released, that doesn’t sit well with me.”
Green made history as Golden Valley’s first Black chief. He started the role in 2022 following a tense selection process in which there was disagreement on candidate support.
It’s been about a month since the city of Golden Valley put Police Chief Virgil Green on administrative leave.
Green came to the city as it faced a police staffing crisis. More than half the department left as a report accused the department of misconduct and racism.
Police staffing has since bounced back.
“We finally have been blessed to be able to recover, which is rare,” Harmon said. “And I feel like if a downfall happens again, it’s over for us. Like, we won’t be able to recover from that.”
Harmon said she doesn’t want to appear adversarial while asking questions about the situation.
“If the chief has done something that warrants this then I am behind the city 100 percent,” she said. “I think my biggest concern is I don’t have enough information and that’s the piece. I don’t have enough information. And just like the residents, that’s concerning, because from what we’ve seen, everything has been pretty good. So this isn’t me trying to create any type of drama or mess. I just simply want the residents to know that for me, transparency is huge.”
Two of the department’s assistant chiefs are currently leading the police department.
