David Clarke (sheriff)

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Sheriff 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.

Clarke was born in the City of Milwaukee, attending Marquette University High School.

He went on to earn a degree in Criminal Justice Management from Concordia University Wisconsin, graduating summa cum laude. In 2003, Concordia University named him Wisconsin Alumnus of the Year. His postgraduate work includes graduating from the FBI National Academy and the National Executive Institute in Quantico, Virginia; completing the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; Driving Government Performance: Leadership Strategies that Produce Results at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; and studying with Police Chief William Bratton and L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca.^[2]

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.^[3]

As Sheriff, Clarke has been known for his outspokenness. Clarke frequently appears at public events on horseback wearing a cowboy hat. Clarke said that Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele had “penis envy” and must have been on heroin when crafting the county budget.^[4]

Clarke has been elected three times to the Sheriff's office as a Democrat, despite not belonging to any party. This has spurred criticism from the local Democratic Party.^[4]

Clarke explains his choice to run as a Democrat thusly on his website:

"Like me, most people question why the Office of Sheriff is a partisan election. 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."^[5]

In response to budget cuts prompted by the Milwaukee County pension scandal under Tom Ament's executiveship,^[6] Clarke began eliminating Department units to save money. He eliminated the gun crime unit, drug unit, and witness protection unit. Many of these units duplicate services provided by municipal departments.^[7]

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele has consistently cut the Sheriff's budget further. A Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel news story reports that "County Executive Chris Abele's 2014 budget takes direct aim at Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.'s office, cutting more than $12 million and 69 jobs, shifting park patrols, emergency management, 911 communications and training divisions elsewhere." ^[8]

In January 2008, before the Milwaukee County House of Corrections was placed under the management of Sheriff Clarke, a National Institute of Corrections audit of the Milwaukee County House of Correction identified 44 areas of concern, including serious security, morale, and management issues, and described the facility, as “dysfunctional.”

In 2009, Sheriff Clarke took over the facility and quickly overcame a $5 million deficit, as well as most of the issues brought up in the audit, including lack of discipline, poor supervision, employee sick use abuse, inmate fights, and excessive and unnecessary overtime use.

Clarke received praise for rapidly correcting the issues.^[9]

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, and attacked the notion that citizens could no longer rely on calling 9-1-1. The appearance sent Clarke into the national spotlight.^[10]

In 2006, Clarke invited members of a Protestant sectarian organization to speak at mandatory roll calls, over the objections of the Deputies' union and members of various faiths. This resulted in a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, which Clarke lost and subsequently appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, who upheld the lower court's ruling in 2009. The sheriff did not seek review in the U.S. Supreme Court.^[11][12]

In 2013, Clarke was awarded Sheriff of the Year Award by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. The official statement credited Clarke with, “Demonstrating true leadership and courage...staying true to his oath, true to his badge, and true to the people he has promised to serve and protect.”^[13] Though Clarke lists the award in his autobiography on the Sheriff’s official website,^[14] it has been a source of controversy,^[4] because some partisan individuals believe the CSPOA is a fringe group.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2014, Sheriff Clarke announced he is considering a run for Mayor of Milwaukee in 2016.^[15]

David Clarke and his wife live on the northwest side of Milwaukee.

• David Clarke - 59%
• Pete Misko - 26%
• Mark Hayes - 15%^[16]

• David Clarke (D) - 74%
• Ken Bohn (R), 25%^[16]

• David Clarke - 54%
• Vincent Bobot - 46%^[16]

• David Clarke (D) - 78%
• Don Holt (R), 21%^[16]

• David Clarke - 53%
• Chris Moews - 47%^[17]

• David Clarke (D) - 74%
• Steven Duckhorn (R) - 25%^[18]

• David Clarke - 52%
• Chris Moews - 48%^[19]

• David Clarke (D) - 79%
• Angela Walker (I) - 21%^[20]

• Campaign website

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