MPD: Rumor mill says Chief Tim Dolan has applied for Bloomington job; he says he hasn’t

In light of all the controversy and litigation that have surrounded Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan in recent months, it’s worth noting that there’s a rumor circulating inside the MPD that Dolan has applied for the chief’s job a few miles south in Bloomington. But Dolan’s office denies it.

In any event, two sources inside the department have told the Independent that the buzz is spreading through the rank and file. "That’s what we’ve heard," says one, "and it seems to be the groundswell around the department. He did officially apply for that position the last time it was open. If [the Bloomington rumor is] true, it makes sense they’d want to keep that quiet with all the firestorms he’s under now."

But Dolan’s assistant, Carol Schendel, tells MnIndy flatly, "No, he isn’t" an applicant for the Bloomington job. The application period for that position closed yesterday. Current Chief John Laux, a former chief of the MPD, will retire in October.

Dolan’s tenure as Minneapolis police chief has been punctuated by controversies that include multiple civil rights lawsuits filed against the department by its own officers, an incident in which an officer promoted by Dolan called US Rep. Keith Ellison a "terrorist," and more recently, the awarding of medals earlier this week to members of a raid team that broke into the wrong north Minneapolis house and exchanged gunfire with the family that lived there.