By Jessica Orozco
Dayton Daily News, Ohio
CLARK COUNTY, Ohio — A patrol commander for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office was reprimanded for Facebook posts in which he said he would require proof of who a person voted for before providing aid and would not help Democrats.
Lt. John Rodgers, who was hired to the sheriff’s office in 2002, received a written reprimand for his conduct, which Chief Deputy Mike Young said does not represent the views of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
The posts, included in Rodgers’ personnel file, include one stating “At the end of the day I will require proof of who you voted for if you ask me for help. Weapons and ammo are not cheap” and another posted on Oct. 20 that said “I am sorry. If you support the Democrat party I will not help you.”
Chief Deputy Young tied the issue to the ongoing strain in Springfield and Clark County over Haitian immigration.
“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 Major Scott Cultice in Rodgers’ personnel file, Rodgers said he does not recall writing the posts and he was alerted to them when a coworker asked if he was OK. He wrote that he did not find them on his page when he searched for them and that the first time he saw them was during a meeting with Cultice.
Rodgers said that he sometimes takes a prescribed sleep aid that can cause him to make “out of character” texts, phone calls or other forms of communication as a side effect.
“I was taken aback when I read those messages and do not have those, nor have I ever had feelings toward anyone like what was depicted in the posts,” Rodgers wrote. “I have served this community, this County and the State for the last 31 years serving as a firefighter, campus policy officer and a Sheriff’s Deputy. There is no other job that [I] would want to be doing than the one that [I] am currently at.”
Rodgers apologized for causing concerns and said he decided to cease taking the medication.
In a letter Rodgers shared to the News-Sun on Friday afternoon, the lieutenant apologized to the community, the sheriff’s office, his coworkers, and his family.
“I know I cannot apologize enough, and my apologies may seem empty, but I will continue to apologize as long as necessary,” Rodgers wrote.
Rodgers further clarified the actions he said his sleep medication has caused, like texting, making phone calls, walking around his house, eating food from the refrigerator and posting on social media.
“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 wrote. “I accept responsibility for the messages, and I deeply regret making them.”
The lieutenant said as soon as he learned of the messages on Tuesday, he deactivated his Facebook account and stopped taking the medication. He said he reached out to his doctor to seek an alternative medication. He said he also reached out to the Clark County Commission, community partners and the NAACP to have “face-to-face conversations” to explain himself, “take ownership of the posts” and apologize.
“I know it will be difficult for the public to trust me, but I will do everything in my power to start mending that trust. I apologize from the bottom of my heart and want to [assure] our community I will always serve to the best of my ability and strive to do better,” Rodgers wrote. “I want to [assure] the citizens in our community that I have always treated everyone with dignity and respect no matter our differences and will strive to show them I can do better.”
Young told the News-Sun that the sheriff’s office has taken the posts seriously and that he is not concerned that the statements would have an impact on Rodgers’ ability to perform his duties. He said he had known Rodgers for around 40 years and believes these statements to be out of character for him.
“I’m confident that he will do his job, he will continue to serve the public; he just has to own the things that were said,” Young said.
The sheriff’s office provides services for all community members, regardless of their political affiliation or other demographics of which they are part, Young said. He said the situation will “take us back some steps” and the sheriff’s office will have to work to regain community trust and support — something he said it is willing to do.
“I hope that our community doesn’t believe that that reflects the entire profession of law enforcement and also not characteristic of the mission that we have here at the sheriff’s office.”
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