Arbitrator upholds firing of Minneapolis police officer

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An arbitrator has upheld the Minneapolis Police Department’s decision to fire an officer in July after it deemed his Facebook posts to be racist.

The Star Tribune reports the arbitrator sided with the police department based on the “awkward twist” that the former officer’s “believability and credibility” was damaged by his decision to insist he could rejoin patrol duty while at the same time pursuing a disability claim.

The former officer, Jess L. Crofton, was fired last year after a city employee complained that eight of his Facebook posts were “inappropriate” because they maligned Muslims.