Ohio sheriff’s lieutenant apologizes after saying he won’t help Democratic voters

An Ohio sheriff’s lieutenant has apologized – and been only reprimanded – after authoring social media posts boasting about how he would refuse to assist people who voted for Democrats during Tuesday’s elections – and would require proof of a person’s voting choice before providing aid.

John Rodgers, a veteran lieutenant with the Clark county sheriff’s office, reportedly posted on Facebook that he would consider a person’s voting record when responding to calls for service in his jurisdiction, which includes the city of Springfield that has recently been at the center of conservative conspiracy theories, according to the Ohio news outlet WHIO.

In a series of posts, Rodgers reportedly wrote: “I am sorry. If you support the Democrat Party I will not help you.”

In another post, he reportedly said: “The problem is that I know which of you supports the Democratic Party, and I will not help you survive the end of days.”

And in another, WHIO reported, Rodgers indicated people would need to “provide proof of who you voted for” if they asked him for help.

After the posts caught public attention, the sheriff’s office said in a statement to WHIO that the comments were “highly inappropriate”. The agency also said the posts “in no means reflect the Clark county sheriff’s Office delivery of service to ALL our community and does not reflect the mission and values of the sheriff’s office”.

“The community has a right to be upset over the actions of Lt Rodgers and he, as well as the sheriff’s office in general, will have to work even harder to replenish the trust of members of our community” the statement added.

An internal investigative file pertaining to Rodgers’ posts obtained by WHIO also said that Rodgers claimed that he had been prescribed sleep aids by his doctor, which he alleged had been causing some of his communications to be “out of character”. Rodgers reportedly insisted that was a “documented side-effect.”

“I do not remember writing these posts or deleting any posts,” Rodgers reportedly wrote in the inter-office communication with supervisors.

According to WHIO, the sheriff’s office said that Rodgers has received a written reprimand for violating the department’s social media policy and will remain on duty.

Clark county in Ohio has been a focal point over during Donald Trump’s campaign for a second presidency after he and others began repeating lies on social media about how members of the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, were eating domestic pets and wildlife.

Since Trump promoted the false and derogatory claims at his debate with his White House election opponent Kamala Harris in September, several hospitals, local government buildings and schools have been sent into lockdown, causing evacuations and temporary closures, due to bomb threats in the community.

In a statement to the Springfield News-Sun, sheriff’s office chief deputy Mike Young addressed the situation involving Rodgers and connected it to ongoing tensions in Springfield and Clark county over the lies about Haitian immigrants there.

“We’ve been in this battle over the last few months, with the attacks on the Haitian community and other immigrants, and we protect people’s rights and we don’t support the conduct to the contrary,” Young said. “I can’t go back in time and take that post away. The lieutenant made the post, and he has received consequences for that.”

In a letter to the News-Sun on Sunday, Rodgers himself said he apologized again for his posts.

“I know I cannot apologize enough, and my apologies may seem empty, but I will continue to apologize as long as necessary,” Rodgers wrote.

“I know in this day and age society has a perception of law enforcement that may not always be positive, and I have now added to that perception,” Rodgers added. “I accept responsibility for the messages, and I deeply regret making them.”

Rodgers said that as soon as he as he became aware of his posts on Tuesday, he deactivated his Facebook account, stopped taking his sleeping medication, and reached out to his doctor to discuss alternative medication.

He also said to the News-Sun that he contacted the Clark county commission, community partners, and the NAACP to have “face-to-face conversations” to explain himself, “take ownership of the posts” and offer his apologies to them – though he acknowledged knowing “it will be difficult for the public to trust me”.