Ohio cop says he won't help Democratic voters in need

An Ohio County sheriff's lieutenant at the center of Donald Trump's false claims about Haitian immigrants allegedly wrote several Facebook posts saying he wouldn't help people in need if they voted for Democrats.

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

His account did not appear in a Facebook search by PEOPLE on Monday, November 4.

In two other posts, the dates of which were not available in screenshots shared by WHIO, Rodgers expressed similar sentiments, even saying he wouldn't help a Democrat “survive the end of days.”

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

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

“Ultimately, I will require you to prove who you voted for when you ask me for help,” he wrote. “Guns and ammunition aren’t cheap.”

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

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

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

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

“It is understood that while these comments are highly inappropriate, they in no way reflect the Clark County Sheriff's Office's service to ALL of our communities,” the statement said, according to WHIO, the Associated Press and CBS News.

“The community has the right to decide the actions of Lt. “Rogers is upset, and he and the Sheriff’s Office in general will have to work even harder to restore 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 told media.

Want to stay up to date with the latest crime coverage? Sign in PEOPLE Free true crime newsletter with breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

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 Springfield News-Sun.

He reportedly claimed that he was taking sleeping pills that caused him to behave “out of character.” Springfield News-Sun and WHIO.

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

The Clark County Sheriff's Office did not respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment.