Ohio sheriff's lieutenant apologizes for 'won't help Democrats' and blames sleep medication

This undated image from the Clark County, Ohio, government website shows Lt. John Rodgers, a 20-year veteran of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, who posted on Facebook that he would not help people who support the Democratic Party. (Clark County Ohio government website via AP)

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio sheriff’s patrol commander who declared on Facebook that he would not help Democrats and demanded proof of who someone voted for before providing them aid has apologized and blamed prescription sleep aids given for causing being “out of character” actions. Lt. John Rodgers, a 20-year veteran of the sheriff’s office in Clark County, where Springfield is the county seat, made the statements in several posts on Facebook, WHIO-TV reported.
“I’m sorry. If you support the Democratic Party, I won’t help you.” Rodgers reportedly wrote in one message. Another said: “The problem is, I know which of you supports the Democratic Party and I will not help you survive the end times.”
The sheriff’s office said Rodgers, who commanded the department’s road patrol, would remain on duty with a written reprimand for violating the department’s social media policy.
“We have been in this fight for the past few months, with the attacks on the Haitian community and other immigrants, and we protect people’s rights and we do not support behavior to the contrary,” Mike Young, chief deputy for the county, told the Springfield News-Sun. “I can’t go back in time and take that post down; the lieutenant took the post and has faced consequences.”
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and his running mate J.D. Vance, thrust Springfield into the national spotlight with false claims – some made during a nationally televised presidential debate – that the city’s Haitian immigrants were eating people’s dogs and cats . Springfield is located in southwestern Ohio, between Columbus and Dayton. Clark County Elections Director Jason Baker said Rodgers would not be at the county elections board Tuesday night, but the sheriff’s office still plans to send other officials there to provide security during the election .
“I think the public should still be safe with the Clark County Sheriff’s Department and Springfield Police Department on the job.” he told the Associated Press. “We are all fighting for the same result: a peaceful day.”
According to a statement from the sheriff’s office, the posts do not reflect the office’s mission and values.
“It is clear that while these comments are highly inappropriate, they in no way reflect the Clark County Sheriff’s Office’s service to our entire community,” the statement said. “The community has a right to be angry about the actions of Lt. Rodgers and he, as well as the Sheriff’s Office at large, will have to work even harder to restore the trust of members of our community.”
Rodgers formally responded to the reprimand by writing in a letter in his personnel file that he does not remember writing or deleting the messages. He was made aware of it when a colleague asked if he was OK, the Springfield News-Sun reported. Rodgers wrote that he didn’t find them on his page when he searched for them and that he first saw them during a meeting with a department official. Rodgers said he sometimes takes a prescription sleeping pill, which can cause him to lose sleep “out of character” Text messages, phone calls or other forms of communication as a side effect. The lieutenant said that as soon as he heard about the messages on Tuesday, he deactivated his Facebook account and stopped taking the medication, the newspaper reported. Clark isn’t the only Ohio county dealing with controversial statements from law enforcement on social media. The U.S. Department of Justice’s election monitoring operation takes place in Portage County, in northeastern Ohio, to ensure the county complies with federal voting rights laws during early voting and on Election Day. That’s after Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, a Republican, was charged last month with voter intimidation. Zuchowski, who is running for re-election, posted on social media that people with Kamala Harris yard signs should have their addresses written down so immigrants can be sent to them if the Democrat wins the presidency. In the wake of the comments, the Portage County Board of Elections has decided not to use sheriff’s deputies for election security this year. Asked at a news conference Monday about how the two cases could affect voters’ sense of security, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said some law enforcement officials — especially if they are running for office — can sometimes make comments that “unwise.”
“But that in no way diminishes the dedicated sworn deputies who work for them,” he said. “These are dedicated people who are lawyers and women first and foremost. They took an oath to do this. They put their lives on the line to do this, and I have every confidence that they take that duty very seriously.”