Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara says it was his actions that delayed the hiring of new officers.

While the reasons O’Hara says resulted in the delay were aimed at improving the department and officer hiring process, they led to a training academy’s cancellation.

“The delays that happened are just unacceptable, and I take ownership of that,” O’Hara told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS in an interview. “I will ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

According to the Minneapolis Police Department, there were three qualified candidates for an October academy. The applicants passed a review by city and MPD leadership during what the department calls a hiring round table. That was in late July, and ultimately, O’Hara said they were not hired.

“There were delays in the process that should not have happened,” O’Hara said.

He points to two major changes within the department. Those include restructuring leadership and implementing more thorough background checks — something O’Hara said was previously being done by one sergeant.

“I moved [the background investigations] to be a component of internal affairs,” O’Hara said. “And I mandated that all of the background investigations be reviewed not just by the sergeant but by everyone else up the chain of command in internal affairs.”

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The three qualified candidates whose academy was canceled will be part of one in February, when they’ll be joining at least several more, according to MPD. But that’s not a guarantee, as the department says between now and then there’s a chance the candidates will take an offer with another department.

As MPD works on improving its hiring process, it’ll also have to focus on finding people to apply in a competitive time for all law enforcement agencies also looking for future officers.

“I feel confident that we won’t have these kinds of delays, as everyone knows expectations and understands the process better now,” O’Hara said. “But delays or not, having two or three people qualified at a time when we’ve lost hundreds [of officers], that’s the real issue. And [it’s] unacceptable. That’s what we have to try and address.”