MINNEAPOLIS — St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming that Mayor Kaohly Her sexually harassed and battered him, and that the city retaliated against him when he reported it and initiated an investigation.

Several allegations in the lawsuit, which names Her and the city as defendants, had been made public during the course of an earlier internal probe into Her’s conduct. But the complaint includes new claims, including that Her made “unwanted and nonconsensual physical contact” with Henry, “placing her hand on his upper thigh beneath a conference-room table — not once, but twice — during a (St. Paul Police Department) budget meeting.”

It also accuses Her of making sexual innuendos about the size of Henry’s penis and describing herself as a “MILF,” a sexually vulgar acronym.

The lawsuit comes less than a week after the city announced that the misconduct investigation into the mayor found that she “engaged in offensive and inappropriate behavior” in violation of the city’s workplace conduct policy but did not sexually harass or retaliate against anyone.

On top of the allegations about Her’s behavior, the lawsuit claims that the mayor hired a private public relations firm to discredit Henry after the investigation began, and that St. Paul officials violated the Minnesota Whistleblower Act when they “engaged in a series of retaliatory acts” because of the sexual harassment complaint.

Matt Wagenius, a spokesman for Her, said in a statement that the independent investigation ”did not substantiate claims of sexual harassment or retaliation against any city employee."

He added that Her “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.”

Henry’s attorney, Chris Madel, told the Minnesota Star Tribune: “We intend to prove our allegations in court.”

Her had been accused earlier this year of creating a sexualized work environment by members of the police department, including Henry. The chief’s formal complaint accused Her of unprofessional behavior that ranged from lewd remarks to altered digital images.

The allegations arose less than six months after Her was elected mayor in 2025, upsetting former Mayor Melvin Carter and becoming the first woman and Hmong person to hold the office.

While the summary of the investigation was made public last week, including recommendations that Her attend training on workplace conduct and hire an executive coach at her own expense, the full report has not been made public.

As of Wednesday, Henry has still not seen it. The Star Tribune has requested a copy of the full internal investigation.

The 73-page lawsuit details how Her’s alleged behavior began to course through the police department, creating what Henry describes as “a hostile and demeaning environment” for his staff. It includes previously reported allegations of the mayor sending a meme about “weinering” and commenting on the breasts of a female police officer.

Most of the complaint involves direct interactions between the mayor and the chief that began before Her took office and continued throughout her first few months in office.

Several of the allegations have never been previously reported.

In December, Her and Henry met at a cigar lounge with Todd Hurley, president of the St. Paul Port Authority, to discuss potentially moving the police station downtown to attract more businesses. Her allegedly told Henry at that meeting that if she didn’t get her way, she would just tell people that Hurley “grabbed her ass.”

That same month, the mayor began working out at the gym at police headquarters. A number of times, she commented that several high-ranking members of the police department were “so beefy.” During those visits, allegations began that Her would make overly sexualized grunting noises while working out.

Early in her tenure, the mayor allegedly told Henry that he needed “to be nice” to her because the fire department had endorsed her mayoral campaign and the police department had not. Henry noted that the department doesn’t make political endorsements, but the police union can, though it did not in Her’s campaign against Carter.

Henry told Her: “I don’t even think this is a conversation we should be having.” Her allegedly responded that the fire department would get things because they are nice to her and “you are going to need to be extra nice to me.”

Around this time, the mayor began placing photos of herself throughout the police department and manipulating images of various officers, including Henry.

Those doctored images have been previously reported by the Star Tribune. Henry believed they were altered in a “sexualized manner” and that the behavior was “unprofessional and unbecoming of a leader of a major city,” the lawsuit states.

Henry came to realize that Her had been in his office without his knowledge or permission to gain access to his framed photos, the lawsuit said.

The complaint alleges that Assistant Mayor Erica Schumacher told Henry that Her stated multiple times she could “go where she wants, when she wants, and say what she wants” because she is the mayor.

When Her found out that Henry did not find the situation funny, she told him, in front of Schumacher, that the chief “did not have a sense of humor.”

On March 18, Her held a budget meeting with Henry, Schumacher, Assistant Chief Paul Ford and several finance people. Henry sat far away from Her but during the presentation the mayor said she couldn’t see the screen and moved to sit next to Henry. The mayor allegedly put her hand on Henry’s middle and upper thigh on one occasion and near his groin on another. The second touch made Henry push himself away from the table. After the meeting, Ford allegedly told Henry that he saw the mayor put her hand on his thigh.

On another occasion in February, the mayor had a police officer drive her to a golf simulator where she surprised the chief and another high-ranking officer who were hanging out together on vacation time. Her said she came without invitation because “you guys wouldn’t invite me” and left 20 minutes later. The chief wondered how she knew where he was.

During the city’s first police graduation of the new year, the mayor noticed the chief wearing a badge that read MFF for Mobile Field Force and said she thought it said “MILF” and wondered if she could get one.

The lawsuit also claims that, in March City Attorney Irene Kao spoke with Her about being “too close and familiar to staff” and that it was inappropriate for Her to walk around police headquarters without notice.

The complaint also details numerous elements of the inner workings of the police department and the mayor’s office, including discussions of the police budget, pension and promotions within the city.

Multiple city officials both inside and outside the police department are named in the suit as having witnessed elements of Her’s behavior.

The lawsuit seeks to have the city release its complete internal investigation to Henry and a jury trial to determine damages for “lost wages and benefits, emotional distress, humiliation, and harm to reputation.”

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(Josie Albertson-Grove of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.)

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