Despite inmate deaths, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says Sheriff David Clarke gets to keep his job

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Thursday April 27, 2017 · 1:08 PM PDT

2017/04/27 · 13:08

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 28: Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke leaves Trump Tower on November 28, 2016 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling cabinet and other high level positions for the new administration. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) — Because of his relationship with the GOP, Sheriff David Clarke gets to keep his job despite inmate deaths and abuses on his watch.

Sheriff David Clarke is bad at his job. The Milwaukee County Jail is a mess and is in serious need of reform. There are several lawsuits against the jail from women who say they were abused during their incarceration, including being forced to give birth while shackled. There’s also the fact that inmates seem to keep dying. And even though the last death was by dehydration and seems to be caused by officer neglect (and could be considered cruel and unusual punishment), Clarke amazingly still has a job. On Wednesday, Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said that he will not remove Clarke from office—because he doesn’t feel it’s his job. Let that sink in.

Walker said while he has the authority to remove Clarke, he doesn't feel it's his job. He acknowledged that reports about the 2016 dehydration death were concerning, but said it's up to voters to decide Clarke's fate and judge his oversight of the jail. "I'm not in a position to say," he said, adding that historical practice has been to defer to voters.

Um, hello? While voters, of course, should be the ultimate decision makers about who holds this office since its an elected position, its is well within the governor’s purview to ensure that gross negligence, mistreatment of inmates, and random deaths are not occurring on Clarke’s watch. Still, Gov. Walker seems unwilling to remove Clarke—who clearly has some kind of magical hold over the GOP because they seem to think he can do no wrong.

Walker said the only time he remembers a governor considering removing a county official from office was when former Gov. Jim Doyle sought the removal of Calumet County District Attorney Kenneth Kratz, who sent sexually explicit texts to a domestic violence victim whose case he was prosecuting in 2010. Kratz resigned.

"The only time it was considered, ultimately that individual pulled out and it was because of sexting, so it was a much different situation," Walker said.

Walker, a Republican, and Clarke are also aligned politically. While Clarke ran in Milwaukee County as a Democrat, he has risen to fame as a brash, right-wing pundit and is a vocal supporter of Republican President Donald Trump.

Let’s face it: the GOP loves that Clarke gives it a reason to claim that it isn't racist. Firing him, even though he completely deserves it, would look really bad for them. At a minimum, they should hold him accountable and force him to reform the jail. Clarke is so out of touch that he doesn’t even know who Terrill Thomas, the inmate who died of dehydration, is—even though he’s being sued by Thomas’s family.

"I have nearly 1000 inmates. I don't know all their names but is this the guy who was in custody for shooting up the Potawatomi Casino causing one man to be hit by gunfire while in possession of a firearm by a career convicted felon?" Clarke said. "The media never reports that in stories about him. If that is him, then at least I know who you are talking about."

Terrill Thomas died after being dehydrated for seven days in the Milwaukee County Jail after officers turned off the water in cell and didn’t bring him drinks with his food. David Clarke doesn’t even know his name. Does this sound like someone who should be in charge to you?

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Despite inmate deaths, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says Sheriff David Clarke gets to keep his job

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