Veteran law enforcement executive Brian O’Hara launches new consulting firm to guide agencies through complex public safety reforms and crisis management.
NEWARK, N.J., July 4, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Brian A. O’Hara, a veteran law enforcement executive with more than two decades of experience leading reform, crisis response, and public safety operations in major American cities, today announced the launch of O’Hara Leadership Group, LLC, a consulting firm advising police departments, government agencies, and organizations on executive leadership, organizational reform, and public safety strategy.
O’Hara Leadership is a consulting, advisory, and keynote speaking firm founded by veteran public safety executive Brian O’Hara to help organizations navigate crisis, transformation, and leadership challenges. Drawing on over 25 years of experience leading major public safety departments, the firm provides strategic guidance to improve organizational culture and performance across various industries. O’Hara Leadership offers consulting services in organizational turnaround, culture change, crisis leadership, organizational restructuring, data-driven policing strategy, and executive coaching.
O’Hara most recently served as Chief of Police in Minneapolis from 2022 to 2026, where he was the first chief appointed to rebuild the department following the murder of George Floyd. Before Minneapolis, he served as Director of Public Safety and Deputy Mayor in Newark, New Jersey, overseeing the city’s police, fire, and emergency management operations.
“Leadership is measured over the long term, not by any single moment, but by resilience and the ability to lead through challenge while earning trust, and leave an organization stronger than when you found it. After more than 25 years in public safety, I want to help the next generation of leaders navigate reform, crisis, and the hardest decisions in policing,” said Brian O’Hara. “That’s what the O’Hara Leadership Group is built to do.”
Across his career, O’Hara has led consent-decree implementation, gun-violence reduction initiatives, and community-policing programs. In Minneapolis, O’Hara inherited a department in freefall with massive staffing shortages, intense public scrutiny, and crime at its highest levels. Under his leadership, the department stabilized staffing losses, implemented significant cultural and operational reforms, strengthened community partnerships, and helped drive substantial reductions in violent crime. O’Hara led the response to the Annunciation Catholic School shooting, the largest mass shooting in the US during 2025. O’Hara also led Minneapolis through Operation Metro Surge, an unprecedented federal immigration operation that brought extraordinary operational, public order, community, and leadership challenges. In Newark, he directed a Gun Violence Reduction Initiative that contributed to a significant reduction in shootings and a 33% reduction in murders, while reducing arrests by 25%. He holds a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University and is a graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program.
Brian O’Hara is a law enforcement consultant experienced in guiding agencies through complex, high-profile crises. His background includes spearheading Newark’s successful gun violence reduction efforts and leading the Minneapolis Police Department through critical staffing shortages, incident responses, and policy reform.
For more news and information about Brian O’Hara, you can visit his LinkedIn profile.
To learn more about O’Hara Leadership, please visit oharaleadership.com.
Media Contact
Media Relations, O’Hara Leadership Group, LLC, 1 (908) 312-3909, [email protected]
SOURCE O’Hara Leadership Group, LLC
