Rochester police suspend officer for Facebook posts

ROCHESTER — A Rochester police officer is under investigation after images carrying anti-Muslim and anti-black sentiments surfaced on his Facebook page.

Officer Ben Schlag was placed on paid administrative leave Friday, Rochester Police Chief Roger Peterson said.

Peterson said Schlag’s suspension is based off of posts the officer allegedly made on Facebook in 2015. On Nov. 17, a post on Schlag’s account shows a drawing of people being run over by a vehicle with the words “Nobody cares about your protest.” The post came two days after the fatal shooting of a black man, Jamar Clark, by Minneapolis police and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protest on Interstate 94.

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