Controversial comments by Minneapolis activist rankle MPD officers, brass, and union

Comments made by a community activist invited to speak last week at a Minneapolis police professional development seminar rankled officers, their union, and even the chief of police.

The controversial comments were made by Harry “Spike” Moss during a two-day seminar last Wednesday and Thursday for Minneapolis officers that was intended to motivate and help them grow in the department and the profession of law enforcement.

However, Moss allegedly veered into “inflammatory statements,” according to an email later sent to rank-and-file members by the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis (POFM), obtained by Alpha News’ Liz Collin. Moss’s comments were also described as “deeply offensive and inappropriate” in a separate email sent to officers by Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, which was obtained by Crime Watch Minneapolis.

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More in the Spike Moss / MPD training saga from last week.

Crime Watch has obtained a copy of an email reportedly sent from Police Chief Brian O’Hara to officers, in which he notes the “deeply offensive” remarks made by Moss to officers maligning fallen officer Jerry Haaf,… pic.twitter.com/2LGNtmaJfo

— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) August 3, 2025

According to information in both emails, Moss made allegations that fallen Minneapolis Police Officer Jerry Haaf, who was murdered on an overnight coffee break by gang members in 1992, was “dirty” and was stealing drug money from the Vice Lords gang. The POFM email called the assertion “a baseless and slanderous accusation that has no place in civil discourse.”

The email to officers from Chief O’Hara stated that in light of the remarks by Moss, he had reached out to both POFM President Sherral Schmidt to discuss “mutual concerns” over the comments and to Jerry Haaf’s daughter, Cindy, “to express disappointment and sorrow over what was said” by Moss.

Moss also stated during the seminar that officers kept Nazi uniforms in their lockers back in the 1970s, and made unsubstantiated claims that nine out of 10 police shootings involved suspects being shot in the back, the POFM email said.

A source who attended the seminar but wished to remain anonymous reached out to Crime Watch Minneapolis and confirmed the statements made by Moss during the seminar, along with other claims by Moss that “officers shot and killed blacks while they were in handcuffs,” and that officers routinely took black men under the Plymouth bridge and beat them. The source said that officers were “disgusted” with Moss having been invited to speak at the seminar.

Moss was reportedly just one of several speakers over the two-day seminar, which the chief said in his email was overwhelmingly constructive and meaningful, despite the overshadowing by Moss’s comments.

In 1992, Moss helped form “United For Peace,” which brought gang members together with the Minneapolis Police Department in an effort to decrease gang violence. The program was ended after the killing of Officer Haaf.

A data request for information on who invited Moss to speak at the seminar and to inquire about any available audio or video recordings of Moss’s comments was not responded to prior to this report.

Alpha News will update this story if further information is obtained.

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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.

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