Controversial David A. Clarke is being investigated by federal agents months after prosecutors denied to press charges after he threatened a passenger on a flight back in January.
According to the Detroit News, an agent filed the search warrant request in federal court Thursday, seeking information from the former Milwaukee County Sheriff’s private email account from the January 15 incident to present.
At the time, Clarke ordered his deputies to stop Dan Black, who spoke to him briefly on an airplane as it flew into Milwaukee earlier this year, according to reports.
Clarke, known for his outspoken support of President Donald Trump as well as questionable policing and incarceration methods, was sued by Black.
The 24-year-old passenger was detained by about a half-dozen Milwaukee County deputies after his arrival at Mitchell International Airport following a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth at the time.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke (shown leaving Trump Tower in November) is being investigated by federal agents
An agent filed the search warrant request in federal court Thursday, seeking information from Clarke’s private email account dated from the January 15 incident to the present
The deputies were ordered by their boss, Clarke, to stop Black after the two men held a brief exchange on board the American Airlines flight, the Journal Sentinel reported.
After the plane landed and was sitting on the tarmac, Clarke sent a text message to one of his captains which read: ‘Just a field interview, no arrest unless he become an a*****e with your guys.’
‘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 texted. ‘You can escort me to carousel after I point him out.’
The texts were provided by Black’s attorney.
Black, a resident of the Riverwest section of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, also sued Milwaukee County and the deputies who detained him after the flight.
They escorted him to baggage claim during the incident. Soon afterward, he was released.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke (left) ordered his deputies to detain Dan Black (right), 24, at an airport in Milwaukee after the two men briefly exchanged words on board a flight they were taking from Dallas on January 15
Black, 24, was detained by about a half-dozen Milwaukee County deputies after his arrival at Mitchell International Airport following a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth on January 15
Surveillance video from the airport shows Clarke (seen above with a Dallas Cowboys baseball cap) exiting the plane and greeting a deputy in the arrival terminal
Moments later, deputies are seen accosting Black (seen above with a black hat)
Clarke’s lawyer claims that Black accosted his client as he was sitting in first class on the American Airlines flight just before takeoff.
‘Plaintiff stopped adjacent to Sheriff Clarke’s seat as Plaintiff boarded the plane and asked him if he was Sheriff Clarke,’ the sheriff’s attorneys wrote.
‘Sheriff Clarke responded in the affirmative.
‘Plaintiff then, while standing over Clarke and in very close proximity to Clarke given the confines of the airline cabin, and in a physically threatening manner, stared at Clarke and shook his head at him for a prolonged period of time,’ the lawyers wrote.
‘Clarke asked plaintiff if he had a problem with him, to which plaintiff did not respond.’
Black’s version of events is slightly different.
He claimed that he noticed Clarke wearing Dallas Cowboys gear instead of his usual signature Stetson hat.
Black then asked Clarke if he was indeed the sheriff, who confirmed that he was.
Clarke then asked Black if he had a problem, to which Black responded that he did not.
Black denies he was standing over Clarke in a ‘physically threatening manner.’
Released May surveillance video from the arrival terminal at the airport shows Clarke coming out of the plane and greeting a number of uniformed officers with a police dog.
Black recorded himself ‘getting escorted out of the airport’ on his cell phone (above)
Black is suing Clarke, Milwaukee County, and the sheriff’s deputies who detained him for unlawful arrest
As Clarke greets them, he gives a salute.
A little over two minutes later, Black emerges and is met by two deputies.
After Black filed suit, Clarke hit out at him over social media.
On the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, Clarke posted a meme that showed a picture of Black with the caption: ‘Cheer up, snowflake…If Sheriff Clarke were to really harass you, you wouldn’t be around to whine about it.’
In the weeks after the incident took place, the federal government launched an investigation that it eventually closed due to lack of evidence.
Black’s lawyer obtained copies of text messages that Clarke sent to his subordinates ordering them to detain his client
It is unclear, however, if the government had access to the video which will certainly play a role in the lawsuit filed by Black against Clarke.
Clarke refused to cooperate with the investigation.
The probe had been placed on hold given that Clarke is reportedly in line to take a job at the Department of Homeland Security.
That appointment, however, may not materialize due to a plagiarism allegation against Clarke.
In response to the lawsuit, Clarke posted this meme on the official Facebook account of the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office