Mayor R.T. Rybak on Monday nominated 25-year police department veteran Janeé Harteau to lead the force. Harteau would be the first woman to lead the department in its history if confirmed.
Harteau, currently the city's Assistant Chief of Police, will replace departing chief Tim Dolan. The Star Tribune reported last week that Harteau was appyling for the job and currently oversees the department's daily operations.
"She is a smart cop, a savvy administrator and a natural leader. She is the logical next chief, and will be an exceptional one," Rybak said in a statement.
Dolan will retire at the end of the year, at which point Rybak will nominate Harteau to the top spot.
Harteau started as an officer in the department in 1987. She was inspector of the downtown precinct from 2006 to 2009, according to a news release. Dolan named her deputy chief of the Patrol Bureau in 2009 and then assistant chief in 2011.
The full council will need to approve her appointment. She already has the backing of public safety committee chair Don Samuels, however.
"She has risen through the ranks through her integrity and great ability, and she demonstrates our city's commitment to obliterate all glass ceilings for exceptional people of color and women," Samuels said.
In 1998, Harteau and another female officer penned a book called "A Woman's Guide to Personal Safety." A Star Tribune story at the time said the pair had appeared on the "Cops" television show.
