David A. Clarke, Jr. | |
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Sheriff Clarke at the NPS Graduation Ceremony in 2013
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64th Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin | |
Assumed office March 19, 2002[1] |
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Preceded by | Leverett F. Baldwin |
Personal details | |
Born | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
August 21, 1956
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Julie Clarke |
Alma mater | Concordia University Wisconsin |
Website | www |
David A. Clarke Jr. (born August 21, 1956) is the 64th Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. In 2002, Clarke was appointed to a vacancy by Governor Scott McCallum, and later elected that same year to his first four-year term. He was re-elected in November 2006, 2010, and 2014, and is currently serving his fourth full term.
Contents
Early life, education, and early career
Clarke was born in Milwaukee, the son of Jeri and David Clarke Sr. His father is a former paratrooper with the 2nd Ranger Infantry Company.[1] Clarke Jr. attended Marquette University High School.
His career in law enforcement began in 1978 at the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD). After 11 years as a patrol officer, Clarke was promoted to Detective, making the Homicide Division less than 1 year later. In 1992, Clarke was again promoted to Lieutenant of Detectives. The next step was becoming Captain of Police for the MPD in 1996. In 1999, Clarke took over the post of Commanding Officer for MPD's Intelligence Division. Clarke then became Milwaukee County Sheriff in 2002, currently holding the same post.[2]
Sheriff of Milwaukee
Budget and clashes with Milwaukee County government
Clarke has often clashed with the county government over the sheriff's office budget, engaging "in a long-running, high-profile tiff" over the issue with Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, "with Clarke providing the more incendiary rhetoric."[3] Abele's proposed budget for 2014 would cut $12 million from the Sheriff's Office budget, eliminating 69 jobs and "shifting park patrols, emergency management, 911 communications and training divisions" to other entities, such as the Milwaukee Police Department, suburban police departments, and the county Department of Emergency Preparedness.[3] Abele described the budget as a way to refocus the sheriff's office on "core, mandated services."[3] Clarke issued a statement calling Abele a "vindictive little man" and saying that "Abele should be drug-tested. He has to be on heroin or hallucinating with that statement."[3] Abele responded by saying that it was "unfortunate the sheriff, instead of engaging in thoughtful civil discourse, is making personal attacks and making light of a serious problem in our community and state."[3] On another occasion, Clarke said that Abele had "penis envy."[4]
In 2015, Clarke clashed with Abele again after Clarke filed a lawsuit against the county over the sheriff's budget, seeking $25 million in funds to hire 75 deputies, 43 House of Corrections officers and 17 supervisors.[5] Clarke argued that his office is underfunded by the county, while Abele noted that the sheriff's office had received the largest increase of any county department and criticized Clarke for having what he termed "a very heavy command staff," "a lot of unnecessary overtime," and redundancies in courthouse security.[5]
A county audit released in 2012 showed that the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office used asset forfeiture funds to buy exercise equipment for Clarke's command staff, for a Disney training, and for a mounted patrol unit.[6] The audit reported that the spending violated county procurement rules, although not federal rules on the use of seized money.[6] Clarke was criticized for the amount of money spent on the mounted patrol by County Supervisor Patricia Jursik; Clarke defended the office's use of the funds.[6]
House of Corrections
In January 2008, a National Institute of Corrections audit of the Milwaukee County House of Correction in Franklin identified 44 areas of concern, calling the House of Correction "dysfunctional" and determining that it suffered from "serious security, staff morale and management flaws."[7] The House of Corrections was at the time a separate Milwaukee County department overseen by a superintendent who reported to then Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker.[7] Walker and the County Board transferred control over the House to the Sheriff's Department under Clarke on January 1, 2009. The House's former work-release center was transferred to the Milwaukee County Jail. Clarke received praise for rapidly correcting many of the issues identified in the report.[7]
Position on gun issues
In January 2013, Clarke was featured on a series of public radio ads that said citizens could no longer rely on the police for timely protection and should arm themselves. Later that month, Clarke appeared on the CNN program Piers Morgan Live, with Milwaukee Mayor and gun-control advocate Tom Barrett, who "said it was irresponsible of Clarke to 'basically imply' that it won't help citizens to call 911 when they need help."[8]
Christian Centurions lawsuit
In 2006, Clarke invited members of an evangelical Christian organization, the Fellowship of Christian Centurions, to speak at several mandatory employee meetings, at which the group members proselytized.[9][10] Several deputies complained about the Centurions' proselytizing, but Clarke refused to stop the presentations.[9][10] The sheriff deputies' union and two individual sheriff's deputies (a Catholic and a Muslim) successfully sued Clarke in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Clarke appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which upheld the lower court's ruling in 2009.[9][10] The sheriff did not seek review in the U.S. Supreme Court.[9]
Political views and associations
Clarke is registered as a Democrat,[11] which is advantageous in heavily Democratic Milwaukee County.[12] However, Clarke is almost universally regarded as a conservative.[12] Clarke "is frequently critical of Milwaukee Democrats, such as Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett; he speaks at many Republican functions, and he has the backing of the National Rifle Association," which has raised funds for his reelection campaigns.[12] Clarke has in turn been criticized by the local Democratic Party.[4] On his website in 2014, Clarke stated that he questioned "why the Office of Sheriff is a partisan election" and wrote: I have never asked a person to vote for me because I run as a Democrat. I ask them to vote for me based on my 35-year commitment to keeping citizens safe. Most voters get it when it comes to public safety. There is no Democrat or Republican way to be a sheriff. The enemy is not the opposing party; the enemy is the criminal."[11][13]
Clarke is viewed as an "iconoclastic sheriff," one of "a long line of controversy-courting lawmen" that includes Richard Mack and Joe Arpaio in Arizona.[14] Clarke has been "associated with those on the political extremes" on occasion, and has attracted attention for these "dalliances with the far right."[15] In 2013, Clarke accepted the "Sheriff of the Year Award" by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a group of sheriffs founded by Mack.[15] The Southern Poverty Law Center has criticized founder Richard Mack for espousing "radical-right" views.[15] Earlier the same year, Clarke appeared for an interview on the syndicated show of Alex Jones, who is "best known for his anti-government views and conspiracy theories on everything from fluoride to the 9-11 terrorist attacks."[15] Clarke has also appeared on CNN, Fox News, and other major news outlets to discuss ongoing police controversies.[16]
Clarke is a frequent and vociferous critic of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, referring to it as "Black Lies Matter" and describing the movement as a hate group.[17][18] Clarke denies that cops are more willing to shoot black suspects than white suspects and has denounced the behavior of "subhuman creeps" within BLM. [18][16] Clarke's stance on the movement has been criticized by the Milwaukee chapter of the NAACP and other activists.[18]
Clarke has harshly criticized various black critics of police abuses.[19] He has called former Attorney General Eric Holder an "a-hole" and accusing him in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee of "outright hostility' toward police; referred to Al Sharpton as a "charlatan"; and criticized Beyoncé for her halftime-show performance at Super Bowl in 2016.
Clarke is a strong supporter of Republican Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, saying that he would "do everything I can" to help Trump win the presidency.[20] Clarke spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.[21]
Persona and media appearances
Clarke frequently appears at public events on horseback wearing a cowboy hat.[4]
Clarke "has become a fixture of conservative media" and in 2015 began hosting a podcast talk show, "David Clarke: The People's Sheriff," on Glenn Beck's TheBlaze Radio Network.[19][22] Clarke also frequently appears as a guest on Fox News, and on one occasion in September 2015 guest-hosted The Sean Hannity Show.[19]
Potential mayoral run
In January 2014, Clarke announced he was considering a run for Mayor of Milwaukee in 2016,[23] but ultimately decided not to run,[24] instead endorsing Republican Alderman Bob Donovan's unsuccessful[25] bid to unseat Mayor Barrett.[26]
Personal
Clarke and his wife live on the northwest side of Milwaukee.[27]
Electoral history
Milwaukee County Sheriff Elections (2002-2014)
2002 Democratic Primary
- David Clarke - 59%
- Pete Misko - 26%
- Mark Hayes - 15%[28]
2002 General Election
- David Clarke (D) - 74%
- Ken Bohn (R), 25%[28]
2006 Democratic Primary
- David Clarke - 54%
- Vincent Bobot - 46%[28]
2006 General Election
- David Clarke (D) - 78%
- Don Holt (R), 21%[28]
2010 Democratic Primary
- David Clarke - 53%
- Chris Moews - 47%[29]
2010 General Election
- David Clarke (D) - 74%
- Steven Duckhorn (R) - 25%[30]
2014 Democratic Primary
- David Clarke - 52%
- Chris Moews - 48%[31]
2014 General Election
- David Clarke (D) - 79%
- Angela Walker (S) - 21%[32]
References
- ^ a b The New Black Power Milwaukee Magazine
- ^ "Meet the Sheriff". county.milwaukee.gov. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
- ^ a b c d e Steve Schultze. "Abele wants to cut Clarke's budget; sheriff calls exec 'vindictive little man'". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
- ^ a b c "Is It Time For a New Sheriff in Town?". Shepherd Express. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
- ^ a b Clarke, Abele at odds over sheriff's budget lawsuit, WDJT-TV (February 4, 2015).
- ^ a b c Steve Schultze, Clarke spent asset forfeitures on workout equipment, horse patrol, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (September 28, 2012).
- ^ a b c Steve Schultze (April 10, 2009). "Sheriff cleans House to address audit's critiques". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- ^ "David Clarke, Tom Barrett square off over guns on CNN". jsonline.com. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
- ^ a b c d "Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs Association v. Clarke". Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
- ^ a b c Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs Ass'n v. Clarke, 588 F.3d 523 (7th Cir. 2009), aff'g 513 F.Supp.2d 1014 (E.D. Wis. 2007).
- ^ a b Clarke, David. "Meet the Milwaukee County Sheriff – David A. Clarke Jr.". Friends of Sheriff Clarke. Archived from the original on July 17, 2016.
- ^ a b c Daniel Bice, Does anyone still think Sheriff David Clarke is a Democrat? Apparently, one, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (July 27, 2014).
- ^ Bice, Daniel (31 May 2014). "Sheriff David Clarke files for re-election amid talk of other offices". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ Maurice Chammah, America's Loudest Sheriffs: A Reading Guide: Milwaukee’s David Clarke is the latest in a long line of controversy-courting lawmen, The Marshall Project (May 6, 2016).
- ^ a b c d Daniel Bice, David A. Clarke's sheriff of the year honor isn't your typical award: Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association known for anti-government views, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (May 15, 2013).
- ^ a b Sabina, Carmine (28 April 2015). "Sheriff Clarke: Why are we surprised at sub-human behavior in American ghettos? Lib policies created it". Bizpac Review. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- ^ David Clarke, It's time to stand up to Black Lives Matter, Fox News (July 11, 2016).
- ^ a b c Brendan O'Brien, Black Milwaukee sheriff takes on Black Lives Matter movement, Reuters (February 27, 2016).
- ^ a b c Maurice Chammah, American Sheriff: David Clarke, the Trump-loving, pro-mass-incarceration, Fox News favorite, is challenging criminal-justice reform—and stereotypes, The Atlantic (May 5, 2016).
- ^ Bice, Daniel (June 16, 2016). "Clarke says he will 'do everything I can' to help Trump win". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ Sheriff Clarke, Rep. Duffy added to GOP convention speakers list, WISN-TV (July 14, 2016).
- ^ "'The People's Sheriff' Is the Latest Addition to TheBlaze Radio Network". TheBlaze. 2015-06-02.
- ^ "Milwaukee Co. Sheriff David Clarke considers 2016 run for mayor". Fox 6 TV. January 31, 2014.
- ^ "Sheriff David Clarke will not run for MKE Mayor in '16". News/Talk 1130 WISN. December 2, 2015.
- ^ Spicuzza, Mary (April 6, 2016). "Mayor Barrett wins easy re-election victory over Donovan". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- ^ "Race for mayor of Milwaukee: Big endorsements for incumbent Tom Barrett, challenger Bob Donovan". Fox 6 TV. March 16, 2016.
- ^ "Meet the Sheriff". county.milwaukee.gov. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Election Results". City of Milwaukee. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- ^ "Election 2010 | Milwaukee County Sheriff - Clarke defeats Moews in Milwaukee County sheriff's primary". jsonline.com. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
- ^ "2010 Election Results". county.milwaukee.gov. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
- ^ "Wisconsin 2014 fall primary election results". JS Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- ^ "Wisconsin 2014 fall general election results". JS Online. Retrieved 12 December 2014.