The St. Paul, Minnesota police officer who was placed on leave after allegedly writing a Facebook post encouraging people to run over Black Lives Matter protestors has resigned from his position with the local Fraternal Order of Police, apologized for that offensive post and apparently, still has not yet learned from his past mistakes.
Posting under the name “JM Roth,” Jeff Rothecker wrote his run-over-them-and-get-away-with-it post in response to a planned protest on a bridge in the St. Paul area. The protest was coinciding with the Martin Luther King Holiday on Monday, January 18. By the next day, Rothecker had resigned as second vice president with the Minnesota Fraternal Order of Police, a position he was elected to in April of 2015. He also issued an apology, released through the St. Paul Police Federation:
I am extremely sorry for posting what I did, I understand that the post was insensitive and wrong. My poor choice of words conveyed a message I did not intend and am not proud of. Shortly after submitting the post, I re-read it and deleted it. As a law enforcement officer, I would never intentionally encourage someone to commit a crime. I very much regret my actions.
I apologize to all the citizens of St. Paul, the department, my fellow law enforcement professionals and my family for the scornful attention my mistake has brought upon them.
I apologize for exposing all law enforcement officers to increased scrutiny, during this difficult time of ongoing conflict between officers and members of the community.
I apologize to the community members who participated peacefully in the protest.”
~ Sergeant Jeff Rothecker
On Wednesday the Twin Cities Post revealed that Rothecker has a long disciplinary record. No surprise there. Out of 15 investigations in the last 22 years, 7 of them have been sustained against the U.S. Army veteran. Those cases include Rothecker’s supervision of officers, improperly accessing private driver’s license data and unnecessary squad car crashes.
The St. Paul Police Department initiated an investigation into Rothecker’s Facebook posting over the weekend. No word yet on when they will conclude the investigation and present their findings.