Minneapolis officer fired after liking Facebook comment that referenced lynching
ACLU: MPD may still have excessive force issues
The ACLU released report stating that the Minneapolis Police Department could still have excessive force issues. FOX 9's Soyoung Kim has the latest.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A former Minneapolis police officer who had served on the force for 18 years was fired after an internal investigation found that he liked a Facebook comment that called for a police shooting suspect, who is Black, to be lynched.
The former officer, Joseph Klimmek, told investigators that he was advocating for capitol punishment of anyone who kills police but was unaware of the racial connotations of lynching a Black man.
MPD fired for liking Facebook comment, post
Timeline:
According to a Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) Internal Affairs report, a post was made on the Facebook Group, "Minneapolis Police Officers and Civilian Employees, Current and Retired" on March 17, 2024.
The post focused on a suspect accused of fatally shooting a police officer and included news articles that detailed the incident, which showed the suspect was a black man.
Another Facebook user commented on the post, saying, "Get a [r]ope and find a tree."
Klimmek, who was an officer with the Minneapolis Police Department at the time, clicked "like" on both the original post and the comment.
The report states that other members of the group took screenshots of the post as well as the comment, and turned over the photos to MPD Internal Affairs.
Former officer ‘did not express any remorse’
What they're saying:
The report states that when investigators interviewed Officer Klimmek he admitted to liking the comment.
During the interview, Officer Klimmek stated that he wasn't aware of any racial connotations with the phrase, "Get a rope and find a tree."
A quote from Officer Klimmek in the report shows he said, "I was probably supportive of that post… the death penalty for someone who murdered a police officer."
When pressed on the historically racial connotations of lynching someone, Officer Klimmek reportedly said, "I guess anyone can correlate anything to whatever they want."
The report adds that Officer Klimmek received social media policy training in 2015.
The conclusion of the report, signed by former Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, states that Klimmek "did not express any remorse for his actions" and that, "The public cannot trust his judgment, and I cannot trust his judgment."
Klimmek's last day as an officer with the Minneapolis Police Department was on Feb. 21, 2026.
Former discipline incidents
The backstory:
The Minneapolis Police Department discipline decision dashboard shows previous incidents that resulted in suspensions.
In 2017, one incident shows that Officer Klimmek and another Minneapolis police officer watched a security guard punch a handcuffed suspect, for which Klimmek was suspended for 40 hours.
Officer Klimmek was also suspended for 20 hours after crashing a Minneapolis squad vehicle into a civilian vehicle that had the right of way in 2021.
In 2024, Officer Klimmek was suspended for 40 hours after failing to find a loaded handgun with a 30-round magazine on a suspect who was then taken into custody and questioned by detectives.
The Source: This story uses information gathered from documents compiled by the Internal Affairs Division of the City of Minneapolis.