Judge Ned Wahl dismissed Assistant Minneapolis Police Department Chief Katie Blackwell’s defamation lawsuit against Liz Collin and Alpha News this week. I’m a member of the board of Alpha News. We supported the film and Liz’s work on it all along the way.
I wrote about Judge Wahl’s dismissal and posted his 58-page order in “Blackwell’s folly.” The story of Blackwell’s lawsuit should be of interest to those who followed the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd and to those who have seen The Fall of Minneapolis, on which Blackwell’s claim against Alpha News was predicated.
Blackwell appears briefly in the film testifying that the knee-on-neck restraint technique Chauvin used was not trained by the department. The testimony in issue appears in the video at 1:00:03-1:00:32. In the film’s voiceover, Liz questions the veracity of Blackwell’s testimony.
Blackwell’s lawsuit is ill-advised. Representing Liz and Alpha News, attorney Chris Madel has compiled an extensive record establishing the “substantial truth” of Liz’s challenged statements in the film and in Liz’z book on the case.
Blackwell has been supported in her lawsuit by Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. O’Hara is the successor to Medaria Arradondo, who exited Minneapolis in January 2022. O’Hara has no personal knowledge of the Chauvin trial. I found his column on Blackwell’s case in the Star Tribune earlier this year false, gratuitous, and cowardly (insofar as he has disparaged Liz and Alpha News without naming either of us). When Chris Madel wrote a response to O’Hara, I called it “Open letter to a spineless weasel.”
O’Hara felt compelled to chime in again following Judge Wahl’s decision this week. Chris Madel responds in the Alpha News column “Chief O’Hara strikes again, and this time, it’s even dumber.” Chris does not moderate his tone to spare O’Hara’s feelings.
In the column Chris quotes 11 statements from Judge Wahl’s ruling that support Liz’s critique of Blackwell’s testimony. He provides citations to the quotes by page number in Judge Wahl’s ruling. Chris then gives three possible explanations for O’Hara’s support of Blackwell’s folly:
First, he can’t read. (Seems improbable, but it’s possible.)
Second, he can read, but he rushed to give a statement without actually reading or understanding the ruling. (More probable, but …)
Third, he read the ruling but intentionally misstated its holdings to protect himself after his earlier, nonsensical defense of Blackwell’s meritless lawsuit. (I think that’s the ticket.)
Chris concludes:
I understand and appreciate the need to “spin” a court order that contradicts your narrative to try to save your tarnished reputation, your failed leadership, and your dismal performance. But again, I’d prefer that this guy just does his damn job.
Chief: the reason you’re having a tough time recruiting is because cops do not believe in Minnesota’s leaders—starting with you. The easiest way for you to remedy that is to shut the hell up about Alpha News and Liz Collin. Stop talking about things you don’t understand.
You’re still down nearly 40% of MPD officers, and you’ve done practically nothing to increase that number—certainly nothing effective. Maybe you and Katie should get out of your offices and make a few arrests. You can start outside my office—I can show you where the crime is. (Remember how I tried to tell you that before and you referred me to your personal lawyer instead of having a conversation with a business owner in Minneapolis?)
I think that would be a much better idea than “spinning” yourself into a new defamation lawsuit against the two of you. (Although believe me, I’d personally love that.)
Read the whole thing here.
