On Thursday, August 31, Fox News pundit, podcast host, tired internet troll, hat-wearer, and nominal public servant David A. Clarke Jr. resigned from his post as Milwaukee County Sheriff. And while there was much to celebrate about Clarke’s departure, one note rang bittersweet: Glutton-for-punishment Milwaukeeans would no longer be treated to the man’s alternately lame and insane ramblings on the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. (Clarke’s Twitter account, meanwhile, remains exhaustingly active.)
Yes, although the page—ostensibly the official page of the entire sheriff’s office—did feature occasional community outreach pictures or tributes to fallen officers, most of it was dedicated to one subject: Clarke. Idiotic beefs with County Executive Chris Abele and the “Urinal Sentinel,” moronic posturing and textbook “tough-guy” talk, rote cries of “fake news,” and zany memes where Clarke threatened to murder people were the norm. Clarke seemed to be pounding out the updates himself—even if many of them were written in the third-person and cloaked in transparent “Sheriff Clarke says…” intros.
But now, under the supervision of acting sheriff Richard Schmidt, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page is the model of restraint and professionalism. “I don’t Twitter. I’m not real good with Facebook,” Schmidt has said. It shows (thank goodness). With that in mind, let’s look at some enlightening “then” (Clarke) and “now” (Schmidt) comparisons…
THEN
“Abele is pissed I will be Sheriff until Jan. 2019 at a minimum. That’s a long time. He couldn’t beat me at the ballot box in 2013 after spending $263,000 of his personal wealth trying to do it. I will resign right after that little mouse does.”
NOW
“Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt held a news conference this afternoon to outline the transition taking place at the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office since the resignation of former Sheriff David Clarke Jr. Acting Sheriff Schmidt has served with MCSO for more than 30 years, working in a Command position in every area of the agency. He emphasized that public safety is his priority. He looks forward to serving the citizens of Milwaukee County in his role as acting sheriff.”
THEN
“Urinal Sentinel’s Ernie Franzen is on the wrong side of the law. He and this liberal rag have no respect for the rule of well-established law and law-abiding citizens. Urinal Sentinel and Neumann-Ortiz support allowing criminal illegal aliens to remain in Milwaukee County to victimize even more law-abiding citizens. Just whose side are they on anyway?”
NOW
“MCSO Community Relations personnel and Explorers attended the Mexican Independence Day Parade on Sunday.”
THEN
“The last time Tom Barrett showed up at a crime scene he got his ass kicked by a drunk, tire-iron-wielding man who beat him within inches of his life. The milquetoast mayor trying to play cop foolishly thought he could simply talk the man who beat him senseless into backing down. Bet he won’t try that again! Timid Tom should leave policing to the professionals like me, and stick to coming up with a plan to reduce the violence, carjackings, random shootings that leave children dead, and the burglary ring currently plaguing the north side of Milwaukee. After that, he can come up with an action plan to reduce Milwaukee’s growing poverty, failing schools, infant mortality rate and joblessness.
“All of these urban pathologies have occurred under his watch. Former Mayor John Norquist handed him a pretty good city. Barrett has Milwaukee circling the drain with no end in sight. The only plan he has is to ask for more money, blame guns, and blame Gov. Walker and the GOP in Madison. Whoever told Barrett it was a good idea to come out of hiding and take shots at me gave him some bad advice. I will give Tom ‘Mr. Peepers’ Barrett this much credit however – he would know what a crime scene looks like because Milwaukee is full of them. If you had to call for help, who would you rather see show up, me or timid Tom? Time to crawl back into your hole Tom, unless you want some more of this because I have some.”
NOW
“For as long as I am in the Acting Sheriff position, I will seize every day, every moment, to move the agency in a positive direction.”
THEN
“Anyone trying to hug me will not like my reaction. Warning. Keep your distance. Cops do not like anyone in their personal space (within arm’s length). Surprise attacks happen to people who come in too close.”
NOW
“We appreciate this nice post from a citizen about a freeway incident yesterday: Thank you to the sheriff’s deputy changing a flat tire (in the drizzle) for a lady on northbouth I-43 just before the Good Hope exit. The police officers and sheriff’s deputies get so much bad press, but their goodness doesn’t get the attention it deserves. I am thankful that we have a caring police force and sheriff’s office!”
THEN
“Damn right I am still fighting for Trump. This battle isn’t over. I helped get Pres. Trump in office and I’ll keep fighting as long as I have to. NOTICE: Do not confuse FOX9 in Minneapolis that wrote this story with the lame Fox6 here in Milwaukee. Those dweebs would have done a drive-by fake news hatchet job on me regarding my appearance to honor cops, firefighters and military veterans.”
NOW
“MCSO participated in the Redemption Lutheran Church Community Outreach event on Saturday. Pastor Winkle was joined by MCSO K9, MPD, MFD and the Milwaukee Fliers jump roping team.”
THEN
“Sheriff Clarke regrets that he cannot attend this juvenile, leftist, anti-cop tantrum. He is pleased that he has their attention however. The Sheriff is in Washington to witness the swearing in of our next President Donald J. Trump as we embark on a mission to MakeAmericaGreatAgain! FOX6 continues to be snookered into fake news. Milwaukee deserves better.”
NOW
“Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt, MCSO command staff, and Honor Guard unit participated in this morning’s 9/11 observance at the Milwaukee County War Memorial.”
