A Menominee County, MI District Court Judge found Pleasant Prairie Police Officer Jaden Kleinke guilty last Friday of “Operating while impaired by liquor.” Kleinke was arrested on December 26, 2020 and charged on January 6, 2021. The criminal complaint sates that Kleinke was driving on 10th St in Menominee, Michigan while under the influence the day after Christmas, 2020.
Judge Robert J. Jamo found Kleinke guilty after he plead guilty. He sentenced Kleinke to:
6 Months Probation
$1,030 Fine
Outpatient Alcohol Treatment
May not possess or consume alcohol, submit to PBT on demand
May not possess or consume controlled substances, submit to test on demand
Continue counseling with Pathways Consulting, sign and release information for courts probation officer and follow all recommendations.
The Kenosha County Eye reached out to Chief Smetana after Kleinke’s arrest and he told us he was notified of the arrest the day after the arrest. Smetana placed Kleinke on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. He also told us he was awaiting the conclusion of the Michigan court case. Smetana told us “These allegations are troubling to our agency. We work diligently to live up to our mission of providing professional, competent, and compassionate service and to earn the trust of the community we serve. The allegations in this situation are not in line with that mission statement.”
Now that the case is resolved, we reached out the the Chief again, but according to an auto-reply, he is out of the office until later this week. We will update this story when we learn Kleinke’s fate as a police officer in Pleasant Prairie.
2 Responses
Honestly, If this is the only blunder on an otherwise clean record I don’t think he should be fired. Yes, he should have known better but it shouldn’t cost him his career. Reasonable discipline and accountability – yes, Leftist style cancelation – no.