Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges broke her silence on the controversial TV news story that spawned #pointergate, saying in a blog post late Thursday that police union chief John Delmonico was trying to prevent her from "working to raise the standards of police culture and accountability."

The blog post dismissed the on-air comments by Delmonico questioning whether the mayor supports gangs or the police after a photo surfaced of her and Neighborhoods Organizing for Change canvasser, Navell Gordon, making a hand gesture that several law enforcement officials said looked like a gang sign. The ensuing social media backlash, Hodges said, shined "the light of day on the ridiculous premise on which it was based."

Their dustup came less than a year into Hodges' first mayoral term, and after she sent an open letter to residents saying that the police department had some officers who "abuse the trust" of the public, which could lead to a "downward spiral."

Hodges continued:

The blog added:

The post on the mayor's blog came exactly a week after the KSTP story originally aired. The mayor through a spokesperson declined several opportunities to comment on the rift between her and Delmonico, which some say dates back to her days on the City Council.

The blog appeared after a group of protesters descended on Augsburg College, where KSTP owner Stanley Hubbard was speaking, and demanded that he apologize for the story.