Leading up to Tuesday’s general election, some law enforcement officers in Ohio proved themselves to be taking a problematic approach to politics — and therefore their ability to properly serve and protect.

Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski made an extraordinarily poor decision when he posted on social media suggesting those with Kamala Harris yard signs should have their addresses written down. That appears to have inspired U.S. Justice Department election monitoring efforts in the county.

But after that, Clark County Sheriff’s Department Lt. John Rodgers — a patrol commander — made several social media posts along the lines of “I am sorry. If you support the Democrat Party I will not help you,” and “The problem is that I know which of you supports the Democratic Party and I will not help you survive the end of days.”

Waking up to the fact that social media comments can have consequences, Rodgers blamed the posts on a prescribed sleep aid. He received only a written reprimand for violating the department’s social media policy and will remain on duty.

A slap on the wrist for him, then, but enormous damage done by both men to the confidence the public will have that they and their departments will carry out their obligations to their communities.

“It is understood that while these comments are highly inappropriate, they in no means reflect the Clark County Sheriff’s Office delivery of service to ALL our community,” the department said in a statement. “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.”

Each officer is, of course, entitled to his own political opinions.

But no matter which party we support, reasonable Ohioans understand we should all be free to proclaim those political affiliations and opinions without fear they will be treated differently — perhaps even punished — by law enforcement.

Surely Zuchowski’s and Rodgers’ example will serve as a reminder to others in law enforcement (all of us, really) to think twice before we post.