A Clark County sheriff’s lieutenant is under scrutiny after social media posts in which he claimed he would refuse to help Democratic voters, sparking public outrage. Lt. John Rodgers has since apologized and said he has no recollection of making the posts, attributing them to medication side effects.
Rodgers, a 20-year veteran and Road Patrol Supervisor, posted on Facebook that he would consider an individual’s political affiliation when responding to calls for service.
“I am sorry. If you support the Democrat Party I will not help you,” he wrote in one post.
“The problem is that I know which of you supports the Democratic Party, and I will not help you survive the end of days,” another post said.
In another post, Rodgers also suggested that people should “provide proof of who you voted for” to receive his help.
The posts, which circulated widely with over 250,000 shares, led to a statement from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, which condemned Rodgers’ comments as “highly inappropriate.”
“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,” Chief Deputy Mike Young said.
An internal investigation revealed Rodgers claimed no memory of posting or deleting the messages, noting that he had been prescribed sleep aids, which he said can cause “out of character” communication as a “documented side effect.”
“I do not remember writing these posts or deleting any posts,” Rodgers said in official conversation with supervisors.
In a letter to the Springfield News-Sun, Rodgers apologized to the community.
“I know I cannot apologize enough… I accept responsibility for the messages, and I deeply regret making them,” he said.
Rodgers explained that he deactivated his Facebook account, stopped taking his medication and reached out to the local commission, community partners and the NAACP to apologize.
Rodgers received a written reprimand for violating the department’s social media policy and remains on duty.