Janeé L. Harteau

Janeé Lynnette Harteau (born 1964) is a retired Chief of Police of the Minneapolis Police Department, having served MPD for over 30 years. She was the President/CEO of Vitals Aware Services and is a founding partner at Titanium Leadership, LLC.

Early life and education

Harteau was born in Grand Rapids, MN, and grew up in Duluth with her mother and siblings after her parents' divorce. She is a 1982 graduate of Denfeld High School and attended Hibbing Community College. Harteau holds a bachelor’s in Police Science and a master’s in Public Safety Administration from St. Mary's University of Minnesota.

Career

Harteau started her career at MPD as a beat cop in 1987 at 22. Working her way up the ranks, Harteau won unanimous approval from the City Council in 2012 and was appointed Chief, becoming the city’s first female, first openly gay, and first Native American police chief. She was nominated by Mayor RT Rybak in 2012. Harteau received international accolades, initiating MPD 2.0, a drive to build trust in the community through a comprehensive reform effort aimed at overhauling the department's culture. This ambitious undertaking sought to enhance accountability and transparency within the MPD while maximizing officer performance and opportunities for advancement. Harteau served on the board of directors for the Major Cities Police Chiefs Association and the Police Executive Research Forum. She is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police and Northwestern Police Staff and Command. She has served as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University.

National work on preventing gun violence

On February 4, 2013, Harteau met with and introduced President Obama during his stop in Minneapolis to meet with leaders and discuss the city’s successes in reducing gun violence. The President hailed the city’s collaborative focus on youth initiatives that had reduced the number of young people injured by guns by 40 percent.

Harteau was the only law enforcement executive invited to the 2015 Washington, D.C. launch of a new bipartisan group called Women's Coalition for Common Sense. The group was started by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who invited Harteau to speak at the conference.

Minneapolis was among the few major U.S. cities to report declining homicides in 2016.

Building community trust

In May 2013, Minneapolis police officers fatally shot 22-year-old Terrance Franklin, an alleged African-American burglar. The officers did not face criminal charges. Following the incident, Harteau required all high-profile cases, like an officer-involved shooting, to be referred to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension instead of being investigated by the MPD’s Internal Investigations Unit.

Later that year, two white off-duty Minneapolis police officers were accused of making racial slurs in Green Bay, Wis. Harteau fired the two officers involved in the incident.

Harteau initiated a body-worn camera pilot program in 2014. Following research, community input and securing funding, Harteau and Mayor Betsy Hodges announced a department-wide deployment of cameras in July 2016.

In 2016, the Minneapolis Police Department was selected as one of only six cities to participate in the U.S. DOJ’s National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice. Harteau initiated a series of meetings with influential leaders from African American, Latino, Native American, Somali, and LGBTQ+ communities. During this time, Harteau announced several changes to MPD’s use of force policies, describing them as a “first step” to repairing the broken relationship between law enforcement and communities of color. Under the revised policies, which focused on “sanctity of life,” officers were required to both intervene and report if they witness improper use of force by their colleagues. De-escalation, a practice previously encouraged but not enforced, was formalized through department training.

During her tenure, Harteau focused on hiring and promoting women within the MPD. In 2015, Harteau named a female Deputy Chief as MPD’s assistant chief, a decision that the National Center for Women and Policing stated may be the only female Chief and Assistant Chief in a major city police department at that time. A 2017, a recruitment video highlighted the ability of women to be a police officer while being a wife, mother, and community member. At the time, women served at every rank in the department, and MPD had higher than the national average of women officers.

In 2020, the film Women in Blue documented Harteau's efforts to reform the Minneapolis Police Department. The film also highlighted the contribution female officers in the Minneapolis Police Department have made to the law enforcement profession.

Reappointment and aftermath

In 2016, a key Minneapolis City Council committee gave unanimous approval to the reappointment of Harteau, after she was nominated by Mayor Betsy Hodges. The public back and forth between Harteau and Hodges started after the MPD shooting of Jamar Clark in 2015, which instigated months of protests at the department's 4th Precinct. A federal investigation held Hodges liable for miscommunication between her office and the police chief in the wake of that shooting.

Harteau was forced to resign in 2017 after the fatal shooting of Justine Damond by an officer, Mohamed Noor. Noor was later convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Harteau resigned at the request of Mayor Hodges. Harteau stepped down from her role after multiple city council members called for her resignation.

In 2017, Harteau launched Titanium Leadership, LLC., which offers coaching, consulting, and public speaking services. She was also named President/CEO of Eden Prairie-based information technology company Vitals Aware Services.

Harteau is the co-author of the books, A Woman's Guide to Personal Safety and A Senior's Guide to Personal Safety.

National speaker and commentator

Since 2012, Harteau has served as a national speaker for corporations and women's groups. She has acted as a prominent commentator for publications and news programs, including the Washington Post, TIME Magazine, the New York Times, CNN, and international networks like the BBC.

Awards

Harteau was ranked #22 on Fortune Magazine’s 2017 list of World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. Harteau was honored with the 2017 Woman Law Enforcement Executive of the Year Award by the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE) and the 2022 Innovations Award by the Invisible Disabilities Association (IDA).

Personal life

Harteau married her longtime partner, with whom she shares a daughter. The marriage ended during her time as Chief. Harteau is currently married to Brenda Leffler Harteau.