St. Paul residents paid for the truth. Now they should get to read it.

Taxpayers funded a monthslong outside investigation into sexual harassment allegations by Police Chief Axel Henry against Mayor Kaohly Her. Investigators interviewed witnesses, reviewed evidence and ultimately produced a report examining what happened inside the highest levels of St. Paul government.

The public got a two-page summary of the investigation’s findings from the city.

Those two pages said that Her engaged in “offensive and inappropriate behavior” that made employees uncomfortable, but that allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation were not substantiated.

Henry’s 73-page civil lawsuit that followed late last week has made the need to see the full report all the more urgent.

To recap, in recent weeks St.Paul residents have been confronted with salacious detailed allegations from their police chief, statements by the mayor apologizing if her attempts at humor fell flat or made other uncomfortable, and the conclusion of an investigation they paid for but still cannot not fully see.

That is an untenable way to ask the public to decide whom — or what — to trust.

St. Paul does not need another summary. It does not need another carefully worded statement from City Hall or another competing version of what happened.

It needs the full report.

Release it. Now.

Henry’s lawsuit against Her and the city alleges sexual harassment, battery and retaliation.

Her’s office said she not commenting on an active litigation while pointing to the investigation’s findings that sexual harassment and retaliation were not substantiated. Henry, through his attorney and lawsuit, tells a dramatically different story.

I don’t know which account ultimately will withstand scrutiny.Neither do you. And that is precisely the problem.

The people of St. Paul are watching two of the most powerful officials in their city wage an extraordinary public battle while being denied access to the document that could provide the fullest independent account yet of what investigators learned.

The city has said it will comply with applicable laws governing release of the report, and some information may legitimately need to be redacted to protect employees or witnesses.

Fine. Protect what the law requires protecting.

But release everything else.

Over the weekend, St.Paul City Council members Molly Coleman and Saura Jost called for the full findings to be released. Coleman noted that even the City Council has received only the two-page summary — not the underlying report.

Transparency is easy when the information is flattering. It matters most when the information is uncomfortable.

While City Hall is consumed by this controversy, St. Paul residents are left paying the price.

Literally.

They have already paid for the outside investigation. Now their tax dollars will help pay for the city’s legal response, staff time and the other costs that come with defending a lawsuit against City Hall. And if the case ultimately ends in a judgment or settlement, taxpayers could be on the hook for that, too.

St. Paul is self-insured and does not carry insurance to cover legal settlements; ultimately, taxpayers bear those costs through city funds.

For residents of a city already confronting a $26 million budget gap, this controversy isn’t just distracting. It could become expensive.

Residents care about property taxes, public safety, libraries, recreation centers, potholes, housing and whether downtown can thrive. They need their government governing.

Instead, the fracture between the mayor and police chief has become increasingly visible and volatile. Her has replaced St.
Paul police officers on her security detail with Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies.

At some point, this stops being merely a dispute between Her and Henry. It becomes a St.Paul problem. Then, a Twin Cities problem. Then, a Minnesota problem. Because when public trust breaks down in the capital city, the consequences don’t stop at the city limits.

Every hour senior officials spend managing this crisis is an hour they are not wholly focused on the ordinary, unglamorous work residents elected and hired them to do.

Every unanswered question creates more room for rumors.

Every withheld fact asks residents to choose between competing narratives without enough information to make an informed judgment.

That is unfair to Henry. It is unfair to Her. Most importantly, it is unfair to the public.

Releasing the report will not magically settle the lawsuit. An internal workplace investigation and a civil lawsuit operate under different standards and can reach different conclusions.Nor should releasing it be treated as proof that either Her or Henry is right.

But the report would give residents something they desperately need right now: facts.

What allegations did investigators examine? Whom did they interview? What evidence did they consider? Which claims were corroborated? Which were not? How did investigators reach the conclusion that conduct could be offensive and inappropriate without constituting sexual harassment?

Those details matter.

Because public trust is not built by telling people what an investigation concluded and asking them to accept it.

Trust is built by showing your work.

Ka Vang is a contributing columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune. She focuses on historically marginalized communities.