Ohio policeman says he won’t help Democratic voters in need

A sheriff’s lieutenant in the Ohio county at the center of Donald Trump’s false claims about Haitian immigrants reportedly wrote several Facebook posts saying he would not help people in need if they voted for Democrats.

Clark County Sheriff’s Office Lt. John Rodgers reportedly wrote in a Facebook post on Oct. 20: “I’m sorry. If you support the Democratic Party, I will not help you,” WHIO reports.

His account did not turn up during a Facebook search by PEOPLE on Monday, Nov. 4.

In two other posts, the dates of which were not available in screenshots shared by WHIO, Rodgers made similar comments, even saying he would not help a Democrat “survive the end of days.”

“The problem is, I know which of you support the Democratic Party and I will not help you survive the end of days,” he wrote in a post, WHIO reports.

Another screenshot shows him claiming he would demand “proof” from people about who they voted for.

“Ultimately, if you ask me for help, I will require you to provide proof of who you voted for,” he wrote. “Guns and ammunition are not cheap.”

Rodgers has since apologized for the remarks, saying they were “out of character” and attributing them to sleeping pills, Associated Press reports.

His comments came weeks after Springfield, the seat of Clark County, was the center of false claims by Trump that Haitian immigrants in the city were eating people’s pets. The claims were denied by Springfield city officials, who said there was no credible evidence of such incidents in the city.

The rumors reportedly led to bomb threats at schools and city buildings allegedly motivated by Trump’s claims, USA Today reported at the time.

After Rodgers’ Facebook posts were exposed, the sheriff’s office said in a statement that they were “inappropriate” and did not reflect the feelings of the sheriff’s department.

“It is understood that while these comments are highly inappropriate, they in no way reflect on the Clark County Sheriff’s Office’s delivery of service to our ENTIRE community,” the statement told WHIO, the Associated Press and CBS News.

“The community has a right to be outraged by Lt. Rodgers’ actions, and he, as well as the Sheriff’s Office in general, will have to work even harder to rebuild the trust of members of our community,” the statement said.

He was not placed on leave, but received a written reprimand for violating the department’s social media policy, the sheriff’s department said, according to the outlets.

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In response to the reprimand, Rodgers reportedly claimed he was unaware of the posts on his Facebook page and could not find them on his page after a colleague brought them to his attention, per Springfield News-son.

He reportedly claimed he takes sleeping pills that cause him to act “out of character,” according to the report Springfield News-son and WHIO.

He said he had deactivated his Facebook account after the posts came to light Springfield News-son.

The Clark County sheriff’s office did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.