St. Paul Officer Apologizes For Facebook Post on Protesters

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A St. Paul police officer is apologizing for a post he made on Facebook urging drivers to run over protesters who rallied against the police killings of two black men in the Twin Cities last year.

Sgt. Jeff Rothecker apologized Wednesday in a statement released by the St. Paul Police Federation. Rothecker says he is "extremely sorry" for what he did and understands that the post was "insensitive and wrong."

The message reportedly said, "Run them over," and told people how to avoid being charged with a crime if they struck someone during the Martin Luther King Day march and rally on a bridge linking St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The St. Paul Police Department has put Rothecker on leave while it investigates.