St. Paul’s political scene just got a lot more combustible. A lawsuit from Police Chief Axel Henry accuses Mayor Kaohly Her of sexual harassment, humiliating remarks, and retaliation after he complained, while the mayor’s office says an independent review did not back up those claims.
Henry, who has led the department since 2022, says the behavior went far beyond awkward banter. The complaint lays out a series of alleged incidents that include sexually explicit comments, unwanted touching, and a pattern of conduct that Henry says made the workplace uncomfortable and professionally messy.
According to the filing, Her allegedly referred to herself as a “MILF” and made crude comments tied to Henry’s body and anatomy. The suit also says she placed her hand on his upper thigh during a budget meeting, a moment Henry presents as part of a broader pattern instead of a one-off slip.
The allegations do not stop at comments. The lawsuit says Her repeatedly sought out contact with Henry, including visits to the police department gym when she knew he was there, where she allegedly described him and others as “beefy” and acted in a sexually suggestive way while exercising nearby.
One of the stranger details involves an awards ceremony where Henry was wearing a Mobile Field Force ribbon, abbreviated “MFF.” The complaint says Her asked what the letters meant and then joked, “Oh, I thought it said MILF so maybe I could get one.”
There is also an allegation involving a cigar lounge meeting in December. Henry says Her threatened to tell people he “grabbed her a–” if she did not get her way on a downtown police station issue, turning a policy discussion into something much uglier and more personal.
Another incident allegedly happened in February at a golf simulator in Woodbury, where Henry and a colleague were using personal vacation time. The suit claims Her showed up unexpectedly, said she “had to come like this because you guys wouldn’t invite me,” and stayed for about 20 minutes.
Henry says things escalated after he filed an internal complaint. His lawsuit claims Her and members of her administration moved to sideline him, cut him out of decisions, withheld records, and used a watered-down summary of the investigation to blunt the damage.
That claim set off the predictable back-and-forth. Her’s office said, “An independent investigation did not substantiate claims of sexual harassment or retaliation against any city employee,” and added, “The mayor will continue to lead Saint Paul and follow the recommendations of the report. Beyond that, the City of Saint Paul doesn’t comment on active litigation.”
The timing only makes the story louder. Her recently shifted her personal security detail and driver services from the St. Paul Police Department to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, a move that keeps the spotlight firmly on the city’s power structure and the strained relationship between the mayor and the police department.
The lawsuit is also tugging at the larger question of how city leaders handle complaints when the accused sits at the top. When the people in charge are also the ones accused of creating the problem, every response gets magnified, every denial sounds sharper, and every silence feels a little louder.
For now, the case is headed deeper into the legal and public relations grinder. Henry is pressing his claims, Her is standing behind the independent review, and St. Paul is left with a fight that reaches well beyond a single meeting, a single text, or a single awkward joke.
