ST. PAUL, MN — St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry filed a 73-page civil lawsuit Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court against Mayor Kaohly Her and the city of St. Paul, alleging she sexually harassed him, touched him without consent during a budget meeting, and then retaliated against him after he formally reported her conduct.
The lawsuit marks a significant escalation in a workplace dispute that has shadowed St. Paul’s city government for months. Her, 53, took office in January and is the city’s first female mayor. Henry has led the St. Paul Police Department since 2022 and has been with the department since 1998. The filing comes less than a week after the city released a two-page summary of an independent investigation that found Her had engaged in “offensive and inappropriate behavior” but did not formally substantiate claims of sexual harassment or retaliation. Henry’s attorney argues that summary was a “sanitized, self-serving whitewash” and the lawsuit demands the full investigative report be made public. The case now moves to Ramsey County District Court, where Henry is requesting a jury trial.
According to the lawsuit, the alleged misconduct began in the early weeks of Her’s administration and grew more frequent through the spring. The complaint describes a Feb. 28 Saturday-night meeting between Henry and Her that was originally scheduled at Mancini’s Char House but relocated to Sweeney’s Saloon on Dale Street because, the lawsuit states, Her specifically wanted to drink THC-infused beverages that Mancini’s did not serve. At the bar, Her allegedly shared unsolicited details about the poor state of her marriage, told Henry her career had “wrecked” it, and said she was frequently alone at home at night — including that Saturday. When Henry said he was drinking nonalcoholic beer to avoid drinking and driving, Her allegedly smiled and said, “I can give you a ride home. You should have some drinks.” Henry declined. Her then repeatedly pressed Henry to define their relationship, asking him to choose between being her friend, being “just an employee or colleague,” or “go” — a word Henry interpreted to mean resign. Henry told her directly, according to the complaint: “There is a power dynamic here you aren’t accounting for. You are the mayor, you can fire me; I can’t fire you.” Her allegedly replied, “I’m the Mayor, you had to,” when Henry pointed out he had agreed to meet with her on a Saturday night.
The lawsuit details a series of other alleged incidents. At a Feb. 19 police academy graduation, Her allegedly noticed a ribbon on Henry’s uniform bearing the abbreviation “MFF,” which stands for Mobile Field Force. Her asked what it stood for, and after Henry explained, she responded, “Oh, I thought it said MILF so maybe I could get one,” according to court documents. Henry said “no” and walked away. The complaint also describes Her working out regularly in the St. Paul Police Department gym at police headquarters, where at least four witnesses told city investigators that she made “grunting and moaning noises that sounded like she was having an orgasm” while exercising. The city’s investigative summary disputed that finding, but the lawsuit states the summary “contains false statements” on that point. The complaint further alleges that in February, while Henry was off duty at a golf simulator in Woodbury with a police sergeant, Her learned his location — possibly through his staff — and had her police department driver take her there unannounced, telling Henry that “she had to come like this because you guys wouldn’t invite me.”
Among the most serious allegations is an incident during a March 18 police budget meeting attended by several city and department employees. By that point, according to the lawsuit, Henry had already begun taking deliberate steps to avoid being alone with Her — ensuring witnesses were present, avoiding her attempts to hug him, and arriving to meetings last to choose a seat away from her. At the budget meeting, Henry says he sat as far from Her as possible. When Her said she could not see numbers on a television screen, Henry offered to switch seats to maintain distance. “No, I’ll come over there,” Her allegedly responded, pulling a chair directly beside him. The complaint states Her then placed her left hand on Henry’s upper right thigh beneath the conference table, with her fingers spread across his middle and upper thigh. A second time, her hand moved farther up his leg, near what the lawsuit describes as his “hip crease,” with fingers extending toward his groin. Henry pushed away from the table to create distance. After the meeting, Assistant Chief Paul Ford — seated on the other side of Henry — told Henry he had witnessed the contact, according to the lawsuit. The complaint also alleges that at a separate police awards ceremony in February, Her looked at Henry and Deputy Chief Tim Flynn and asked, “Why is Tim’s bigger?” — a remark Henry interpreted as a sexual innuendo about the size of his penis.
The lawsuit also details a pattern of altered photographs Her allegedly created and placed inside police headquarters. According to the complaint, Her removed a personal framed photograph from Henry’s office — showing Henry, Deputy Chief Jeff Stiff, and Sgt. Toy Vixayvong — and replaced their bodies with those of shirtless, muscular bodybuilders wearing tight compression shorts with prominent bulges. She allegedly printed the altered image, put it in a gold frame, and returned it to Henry’s office without his knowledge or consent. Her also allegedly created images placing the officers’ faces on members of a boy band and on the bodies of UFC fighters. In another incident inside police headquarters, Her allegedly placed her own headshot photograph over official photos of SPPD command staff on a wall display. Then-Deputy Chief Shari Falkowski stopped Her in the act, telling her she had “worked very hard to have her picture on that wall.” The lawsuit argues the photo incidents would have resulted in immediate termination had the roles been reversed. A former deputy chief also separately accused Her of commenting on the size of her own breasts before complimenting the deputy chief’s breasts, and Her allegedly sent department staff a “Weiner Wednesday” message featuring a photoshopped image of an SPPD officer with a sexually explicit caption, according to court documents.
Henry filed a formal sexual harassment complaint with the city’s human resources department on March 26, 2026, after learning the alleged conduct extended beyond his own interactions with Her. The lawsuit brings six counts against Her and the city: violation of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, violation of the Minnesota Whistleblower Act, sexual harassment under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, reprisal under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, aiding and abetting under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, and common-law battery. Henry is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $50,000, attorney’s fees, and a court order compelling the city to release the full investigative report and all underlying data. He is also seeking damages for lost wages, emotional distress, humiliation, and harm to reputation. When Henry filed his original complaint, city officials told him he was “effectively ending his career” and that he was “jumping out of a plane without a parachute,” according to the lawsuit. The complaint further alleges Her hired a private public relations firm to discredit Henry after the investigation began, and that a media report suggesting Henry filed the complaint because he was upset about the police budget was induced by that PR effort without Henry being contacted for comment.
The mayor’s office denied the core allegations. Spokesperson Matt Wagenius said in a written statement that “an independent investigation did not substantiate claims of sexual harassment or retaliation against any city employee” and that Her “will continue to lead Saint Paul and follow the recommendations of the report.” The city declined to comment further, citing active litigation. When reporters approached Her at an Aldi grocery store Thursday, she said she could not comment because of the pending case. The city has not released the full investigative report, and Henry’s lawsuit alleges city officials have also withheld it from him directly, which he claims violates Minnesota’s Data Practices Act. Just days before the lawsuit was filed, Her’s office transferred responsibility for the mayor’s security detail from the St. Paul Police Department to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, citing increased threats of political violence. The sheriff’s office said it was contacted Sept. 10 to begin those services. Neither the police department nor the sheriff’s office cited the strained relationship between Henry and Her as a reason for the change. Henry’s attorney, Chris Madel, said his client acted out of principle. “Axel Henry is an honorable man and a dedicated public servant,” Madel said. “He didn’t come forward for attention or advantage — he came forward because what happened was wrong and needed to be reported.”
The case is now pending in Ramsey County District Court. Henry has requested a jury trial, and the court has not yet scheduled a hearing date. The city faces a separate demand from the lawsuit to publicly release the complete investigative report. Her, who was born in Laos and came to the United States at age 3 after spending part of her childhood in a refugee camp, has previously issued two public apologies acknowledging that her “attempts at humor” crossed workplace boundaries, but she has not stepped down from office.
