David Clarke

David Alexander Clarke Jr. (born August 21, 1956) is an American former law enforcement official who served as Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, from 2002 to 2017.

His career in law enforcement began in 1978 at the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD).

He "rose through the ranks at a slow but steady pace in his 24 years with the department".

Clarke was a patrol officer for eleven years and then a homicide detective; he was promoted to lieutenant of detectives in 1993 and captain in 1999.

Clarke's career was not without controversy; in 1994, the mother of a 15-year-old boy filed a complaint alleging that Clarke used excessive force when arresting her son.

According to public documents, Clarke was returning from a vacation when he spotted five teenagers heaving rocks at passing cars.

Clarke chased down the teens, drew his service revolver and ordered them to lie on the ground.

He admitted to using his foot to turn one boy over as he searched for weapons.

The boy's mother claimed Clarke put a gun to her son's head and kicked him in the side, causing bruised ribs that required medical attention.

However, the Fire and Police Commission ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge Clarke and dismissed the case.

In 1999, Clarke received a B.A. in Management of Criminal Justice from Concordia University Wisconsin's School of Adult and Continuing Education.

In 2002, Clarke was appointed to the position by Republican Governor Scott McCallum and later elected that same year to his first four-year term.

In January 2002, Milwaukee County Sheriff Leverett F. Baldwin resigned midway through his term to take a pension payout.

Clarke was one of ten applicants for the position, and Governor Scott McCallum appointed him on March 19, 2002.

He was elected to a full term later in 2002, and was reelected in 2006, 2010, and 2014.

He was reelected in November 2006, 2010 and 2014.

Although Clarke declared himself as a Democrat after his appointment as sheriff and ran as a Democrat in a heavily Democratic county, many of Clarke's political views align with those of conservative Republicans; he refused to join the Wisconsin Democratic Party, instead promoting conservative views, and allying himself with Republican officials.

As sheriff, Clarke frequently clashed with other Milwaukee County officials over the budget and other matters, and came under scrutiny for deaths and alleged mistreatment of jail inmates.

One man died of thirst in what a coroner ruled was a homicide, and pregnant women were handcuffed and shackled while undergoing labor.

In 2013, Clarke received a master's degree in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS).

In 2015, Clarke received criticism for his statement on his podcast: "Let me tell you why blacks sell drugs and involve themselves in criminal behavior instead of a more socially acceptable lifestyle: because they're uneducated, they're lazy and they're morally bankrupt. That's why."

He resigned as sheriff in August 2017.

A vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, Clarke garnered attention for controversial and sometimes inflammatory social-media posts, and was considered for a role in the Trump administration.

In May 2017, CNN reported that Clarke had plagiarized portions of the thesis he completed as part of the requirements for this degree, stating that in the thesis, "Clarke failed to properly attribute his sources at least 47 times."

The thesis ("Making U.S. security and privacy rights compatible") was found to have lifted material verbatim from several sources without proper citation, including reports by the American Civil Liberties Union, the 9/11 Commission Report, and George W. Bush's memoir Decision Points.

Clarke provided footnotes to sources that he used, but did not properly place quotations around verbatim words of his sources, which is an act of plagiarism according to the NPS.

Following the report, the NPS removed the thesis from its online archive.

In response to the report, Clarke called journalist Andrew Kaczynski, who broke the story, a "sleaze bag" and denied that he had plagiarized.

In a July 2017 letter to Clarke, NPS dean of students, Commander Paul Rasmussen, wrote that he concurred with the Honor Code Board that Clarke's thesis was "in violation" of the school's honor code but that the "violation was not a result of any intentional deception or misappropriation efforts".

Rasmussen instructed Clarke to submit a revised thesis within 100 days or NPS would "initiate degree revocation".

Clarke frequently appeared as a guest on Fox News through February 2018 and was a speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Clarke received several extensions on the original deadline before submitting his revised thesis in March 2018; NPS officials informed Clarke that his edits were satisfactory, and allowed him to retain his degree.

Clarke has "built a following among conservatives with his provocative social media presence and strong support of Donald Trump".

His prominence as a right-wing firebrand has made him a controversial and polarizing figure.

He has criticized Planned Parenthood, suggesting instead that it be renamed "Planned Genocide".

After resigning as sheriff, Clarke joined the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action as a spokesman and senior advisor; he left the group in 2019.

Clarke was born in Milwaukee, one of five children of Jeri and David Clarke Sr. His father was a paratrooper with the 2nd Ranger Infantry Company.

His uncle was NFL player Frank Clarke, whom he idolized.

Clarke Jr. attended Marquette University High School where he played for the varsity basketball team.

After finishing high school, Clarke took classes at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee but dropped out during his first year when he got a job driving beer trucks.