MILWAUKEE -- A Milwaukee man said Sheriff David Clarke abused his power by treating him like a criminal.
"It was equally scary, embarrassing, and hilarious. Like totally bizarre," explained Dan Black.
Black thought he recognized a familiar face in Dallas Sunday when he was boarding his airplane.
"I can't really tell if it's him. He's not in his signature cowboy hat, he's in his Dallas Cowboys gear... So I ask. I say 'are you Sheriff Clarke?' and he says 'yeah,' and I was surprised that he was wearing the Dallas Cowboys gear."
Black says he shook his head at his attire.
"I walk on and from behind me he asked me if I had a problem, and I turn around and shake my head. I don't want to say anything. I don't want to start conflict."
Black remembers when a passenger on the Sheriff's flight back in September was charged with intoxication and disruptive behavior, after repeatedly making racial slurs towards Clarke. Black says he was still surprised when was greeted by deputies and bomb sniffing dogs when he got off the plane.
"They start asking me who I am, what was I doing in Dallas, if I had an opinion of Sheriff Clarke," explained Black.
He said after about 15 minutes of interrogation, the deputies escorted him outside. A source from the Sheriff's Office confirms this interaction. Black regrets saying anything to the Sheriff.
"Absolutely. I wished I'd just walked on by... I thought he might compliment me on my hat, but no he says you got a problem."
Black isn't looking for an apology by filing a complaint.
"I just want people to know that this is how he acts."
We reached out to the Sheriff's Office multiple times for comment and haven't heard back as of Tuesday night.
The Sheriff responded to the complaint Wednesday morning on the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office Facebook page, the post said:
"Next time he or anyone else pulls this stunt on a plane they may get knocked out. The Sheriff said he does not have to wait for some goof to assault him. He reserves the reasonable right to pre-empt a possible assault,"
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