MILWAUKEE- It turns out that Sheriff Clarke knew that Riverwest resident Dan Black hadn’t broken any laws when they briefly spoke on a plane this January, but he ordered his staff to harass Black anyway. And then he apparently told American Airlines staff that three people were bothering him — never explaining who the other two people were.
Dan Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel outlined text messages sent by David Clarke which indicate that he directed his staff to harass Black:
Sitting on the tarmac at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Jan. 15, Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. sent a text message to one of his captains after a brief verbal exchange with a passenger.
The sheriff explained in the text what should be done when Riverwest resident Dan Black got off the plane.
“Just a field interview, no arrest unless he become an asshole with your guys,” Clarke wrote Captain Mark Witek. “Question for him is why he said anything to me. Why didn’t he just keep his mouth shut?”
“Follow him to baggage and out the door,” Clarke continued. “You can escort me to carousel after I point him out.”
A copy of the text messages was provided by an attorney for Black, who is suing the sheriff, Milwaukee County and several unnamed deputies over the incident.
Read more at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
