MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minneapolis police Chief Janee (juh-NAY') Harteau (har-TOH') says she is "willing to step aside to let a fresh set of leadership eyes" be in charge of the department.
She and the police force are facing criticism in the wake of last weekend's fatal police shooting of 40-year-old Justine Damond, an unarmed Australian woman who had called 911.
Harteau's resignation Friday came at the request of Mayor Betsy Hodges, who said she lost confidence in the chief.
Harteau worked her way up from the bottom of the department to become the city's first female, first openly gay and first Native American police chief.
She said Friday that she was honored to serve as chief, but that she must "put the communities we serve first" despite the department's accomplishments under her leadership.