Ohio Sheriff's Lieutenant Apologizes After Saying He Won't Help Democratic Voters [View all]

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John Rodgers also received written reprimand for posting: ‘If you support the Democrat Party I will not help you,’ The Guardian, Nov. 4, 2024.
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An Ohio sheriff’s lieutenant has apologized – and been merely 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...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/04/ohio-police-lieutenant-democratic-voters