A Minneapolis police officer lost his job in February after internal investigators found he liked a Facebook comment calling for the lynching of a Black suspect. The firing, detailed in newly released disciplinary files, lays out how a single social media click was deemed a violation of department standards and has reignited debate over bias in the ranks and how online conduct is policed.
According to the Star Tribune, Officer Joseph Klimmek, a 17-year veteran of the department, liked a March 17, 2024, comment in a private Facebook group that said “get a [r]ope and find a tree” in response to a news story about a man accused of killing a police officer. In a Feb. 20 termination letter, former Chief Brian O’Hara wrote that Klimmek’s action “degraded the professionalism of the agency” and showed a “serious lack of integrity, ethics and character.” The Star Tribune also reported that Klimmek used a private account that did not display his real last name when he liked the comment.
Department Policy Bars Posts That Promote Violence
Minneapolis police are explicitly warned that their online activity cannot advocate violence or criminal behavior and cannot be discriminatory or disparaging in ways that erode public trust. The department’s Social Media Use in Investigations manual forbids content that “promotes violence or criminal activity” and cautions that personal accounts must not contain material that would cause “an objectively reasonable person to doubt the member’s ability to perform the duties of a peace officer in a fair and impartial manner,” according to the MPD social media policy.
Long Disciplinary Record and a Recent Criminal Case
Disciplinary records reviewed by the Star Tribune show Klimmek had at least 20 complaints since joining the department in 2009 and was given one-on-one social media training in 2015 after earlier inflammatory posts. He later pleaded guilty to an amended charge in an Anoka County case and received a stay of adjudication; on Feb. 9, 2026, a judge ordered two years of supervised probation and a parenting class. Although a review panel recommended a lesser penalty for the Facebook incident, O’Hara bumped the discipline up to automatic discharge. The Minneapolis police union is contesting the firing, and Klimmek has requested a veteran’s preference hearing through state arbitration.
Why It Matters for Reform and Trust
O’Hara argued that Klimmek’s online endorsement was especially troubling because the department is still under intense scrutiny and long-running reform efforts following the murder of George Floyd. Both the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice have documented discriminatory practices within the Minneapolis Police Department and the city and have negotiated court-enforceable agreements to address those findings, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Legal Fallout
The union grievance and any veteran-preference arbitration could still alter Klimmek’s employment status, since arbitrators sometimes scale back or overturn police discipline. For now, the firing remains in place, and the newly released records are adding fresh pressure on city leaders and oversight officials to show that social media rules are enforced consistently across the force.
