Two former Minneapolis police officers discuss current events, politics, and law enforcement issues in Minnesota and nationwide. Chris (Able) has over 23 years as a patrol officer and Karina (Baker) has 15 years as a police officer; both decided to retire in 2020 after the George Floyd riots spread nationwide.
Christopher Kelley was born and raised in Hibbing, MN on the Iron Range. Chris graduated from Hibbing High School in 1988 and then enlisted in the United States Army on active duty. After 27 years of service and deployments to the Middle East Chris obtained the rank of Sergeant Major before retiring in 2016. Chris’s educational background included: AAS in Law Enforcement (1996), BA in Criminal Justice (2007), and an MA in Criminal Justice Leadership from Concordia University, St. Paul (2012). Chris was hired with the Minneapolis Police Department in 1998 and served in various Patrol and Community Response Team functions. Chris retired from the Minneapolis Police Department in 2021 with over 23 years of service. Chris also ran as a candidate in the Minnesota State Senate in 2016 as well as a candidate for US Congress in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. Chris enjoys spending time with his family, deer hunting, fishing, beer making, watching car shows on the Motor Trend channel, traveling, and paying attention to politics.
Karina Kelley was born in Santiago, Chile and grew up in a small hobby farm in CA, an hour south of Silicon Valley. Karina moved to Minnesota as a teenager in 1990 and has lived in Minnesota ever since. Karina graduated from Edina High School in 1994 and attended Normandale Community College as a PSEO student; she later transferred to the University of Minnesota and received a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. Karina worked as a Loss Prevention Supervisor for various retail stores prior to being hired as a Police Officer for the City of Minneapolis in 2006. Karina has worked in various positions to include Patrol, Community Response Team, SRO, Bike Patrol, and as a Police Explorer Advisor. Karina recently retired from the Minneapolis Police Department with almost 15 years of service. Karina enjoys spending time with her family, raising her young son, watching cooking shows, listening to podcasts, traveling and paying attention to politics.