City council appoints Minneapolis' first female, openly gay police chief

The Minneapolis city council on Friday confirmed 25-year veteran officer Janee Harteau as the city's new Chief of Police, and in doing so Harteau becomes the first woman and first openly gay officer to serve as police chief.  The council voted 11-0 to confirm Harteau, 48, after council members and Mayor R.T. Rybak gushed praise for the new chief. “I love the fact that we will have a chief who has worked her way up,” said Rybak, who officially nominated Harteau to become the city’s next chief of police. “She’s a smart cop, a savvy administrator and a natural leader,” he said.