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Clarke told radio
station WISN in Milwaukee that he would leave his post as
sheriff next month to join the Department of Homeland Security.
The post would not require Senate confirmation.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Jenny Burke said no
announcement on Clarke had been made, and said the role of
assistant secretary must be made official by the secretary of
the department.
Clarke said on WISN's Vicki McKenna Show, "I'll be a liaison
with state and local governments and with the private sector,
and one that's really near and dear to me - liaison with the
state, local and tribal law enforcement," according to an online
recording of the show posted on the station's website.
Clarke's office and spokeswoman in Milwaukee could not be
reached for comment on Wednesday. He said on the radio show that
he would work with local agencies that can feel neglected or
ignored by the federal government.
The Department of Homeland Security, created after the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon, includes agencies
that handle customs, border protection and immigration, the
Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration and the
Secret Service.
The Black Lives Matter movement grew out of protests over a
number of police killings of unarmed black men in various parts
of the United States. The movement has challenged the use of
excessive force by law enforcement officers.
Clarke has labeled members of the movement "subhuman creeps" and
called for its eradication. He spoke in support of Trump at the
Republican National Convention in Cleveland last July.
Critics have faulted Clarke for his management of a Milwaukee
County jail where a mentally ill man died in 2016 of
dehydration. An inquest jury recommended that seven employees of
the jail be criminally charged.
Democratic Senator Kamala Harris of California called Clarke's
appointment "a disgrace."
"Sheriff David Clarke's unconscionable record makes him unfit to
serve," Harris said in a tweet.
(Reporting by Eric Beech; additional reporting by Chris Kenning)
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