Officer Clark Nominated for America's Most Wanted
The Middletown Police Department's Officer Douglas Clark and his police dog Niko were recently nominated to be an America's Most Wanted's "All-Star" for the capturing of fugitive Tormu Prall.
Clark, who is infamous at Wesleyan for harassing Wesleyan students and his involvement in the Fountain Avenue incident last year, as well as for other altercations, clearly has a tendency to take his job to the extreme.
However, on September 8, 2008, this quality manifested itself as bravery. Responding to a call about a man breaking into cars, Clark and Niko followed Prall, who is accused of arson and murder, through briars and a forest to a parking lot near the Mattabasset River, where he disappeared from sight:
Using his powerful sense of smell, the dog followed the trail of the convict until it reached the tractor trailers. Then the dog isolated the man’s location under one of the parked trucks.See the full article in the Middletown Press here.
Based on the dog’s reactions, the officer found the suspect. As he described it, “The dog was very hot … excited. Ears are literally perked forward, tail’s wagging. Everyone should know their own dog.”
At that point, Clark started exhorting the man to show himself and police ultimately took the guy in.
Had it not been for the dog, Clark said police would not have found the fugitive.
“He had wedged himself up under the axles where you couldn’t have seen him,” Clark said, a few days after the capture.
[...] Police had no idea if he had weapons, [Fellow MPD Officer] Puorro said. Still, Clark crawled on the ground and began digging under the trailer.
That bravery, a successful capture and all the work Clark does for the force combined to give Puorro a reason to nominate him, Puorro said — so he did. The next thing he knew, the producers from the show called and interviewed him.
See the "America's Most Wanted" article on Prall here.
And here's previous Argus content featuring Officer Clark.
Also, this is my first post as a new Wesleying blogger. Hey Wesleyan.
36 comments:
Apparently, Tormu Prall burned down his brother's house after an argument. The blaze killed the brother (this is why he is being charged for murder), although it isn't clear whether that was Tormu's intent.
That fucker punched me in the stomach last spring on Fountain. What an asshole.
Seems to me like it's the dog who did all the hard work here. Nominate him.
This dude is not the kind of cop that we, as a society, should be encouraging other officers to emulate. We should not be legitimating him, and by extension his methods, as an "heroic" or "all-star" officer. (Of course I don't mean "we" in terms of wesleyan students -- but "we" in terms of the whole country)
We should, as the wesleyan cummunity, collectively write a letter to AMW about how he is a violent, abusive, potentially racist travesty of an officer of justice.
What an awesome dude, a no-bullshit kind of guy, exactly what we need in the whiny/sheltered wesleyan bubble! Officer Clark, some of us at Wes support you and are right behind you 100%.
@11:32 - really? seriously? are you kidding?
Listen, people aren't all good or all bad. Things aren't black and white. He could be heroic in this situation and have performed less than admirably in others. Let people be celebrated for their merits.
I'm with 12:37. I don't condone the actions of either "side" of the Fountain Avenue incident. There was undoubtedly poor behavior among students and officers. As the article suggests, the same qualities of a person can manifest themselves in different ways depending on the situation. Officer Clark and his dog tracked down a criminal. Let them be praised for that.
@1:58 This is issue is not about the Fountain incident. Officer Clark has a long history of unprofessional conduct that goes back at least 4 years, if not longer. He has, time and time again, demonstrated abrasive attitudes towards civilians he is sworn to protect, and a strong bias against individuals of color. Despite all of this I do not fault him personally for Fountain, I can understand how an officer caught in the middle of that would misinterpret the situation. However, for misusing his canine unit as an intimidation tactic, for transparent racism, and for abuse of his authority I do find the idea of Officer Clark having a badge sickening.
Completely agreed 7:01
Sure he did something good in capturing this Prall character, but giving him a prestigious award in law enforcement doesn't just praise him for that act. In fact "That bravery, a successful capture and all the work Clark does for the force combined to give Puorro a reason to nominate him." This is about more than just that act, it is about him as an officer.
Such an award legitimizes him as not only a worthy officer, but an exemplary officer. This "All-Star" status will lend him credence within the MPD, and undermine the ability of those he harrasses to appeal for a redress of their grievances and hold him accountable.
He will be untouchable, does ANYONE think an untouchable Officer Clark is a good idea?
on a not unrelated note: any word on Clare's attackers?
I also dislike Officer Clark, or most small town police officers for that matter. However, I think that a show like America's Most Wanted doesn't care if a cop over steps his boundaries. They only care if they make an arrest that looks cool in re-enactment. If you look on the comments for the Middletown Press article, most Middletowners like Clark and have a bigger problem with two officers named Solis and DeFrance. I wonder if they will become new campus characters...
7:01, I see what you're saying now. (This is (was?) 1:58 again.)I guess I wasn't really aware of the extent of this issue. Thanks for the synopsis-- I really am revising my opinion on this. A lot.
So if the guy burnt down the house, killed his brother but didn't intend to do it, we don't put him away for murder? By extrapolation then, if George Bush goes to Iraq looking for WMDs but didn't intend to find the cupboard bare, he was righteous too? OK, now I see how this works. Whew. Thanks Avacado!
No, I didn't imply that at all. I just wanted to know whether when he burned down the house and he intended to kill his brother or not. Maybe he attacked his brother as he was lighting the house, and incapacitated him inside. It matters in a court of law, and also it makes him more cold-hearted if he did.
big whoop I coulda caught that guy
some Wesleyan students are so self-centered I'm ashamed for them.
You guys make these accusations against Officer Clark without basis. Provide some facts! It's easy to sit behind your laptop and type away making accusations against a police officer that has a family! PROVIDE SOME FACTS, REAL FACTS! OTHERWISE SHUT UP! You're the reason why Middletown thinks were a bunch of whinny rich kid losers!
@3:38 - What kind of facts are you looking for? If you search this site or the Wesleyan Argus you can see reports of incidents that he was involved in. Also, official reports have been filed against him. Also, on this site you should be able to find some picture/video of the fountain incident. I don't know what more you want.
Also - I think you would be a little "Whiney" too if your friends and peers were being beaten, getting staples in their head and getting bitten by dogs.
you have to take fountain avenue off the table. The WSA report never mentioned Officer Clark, nor singled out any particular officer by name.
And, I repeat: what's the status on Clare's perps?
Hey, checkout www.police-dog.net
The facts on this site are not reported on any reputable news source so as far as I'm concerned, you guys are slandering the guy! This is why the MPD and the community at large does not respect us.
@5:25 I can't offer you facts, but I personally witnessed his behavior. We had an incident my senior year where a number of CT chapters of black fraternities met at Wesleyan. Their event was shut down at Psi U and they were on Fountain Ave organizing a new plan when Middletown police came and said everyone had to leave (there were 50 cars and a lot of people). Officer Clark drove his car around the block 2 or 3 times with the back window down and his dog going nuts. He then stopped and started walking the block, when I (a white male) asked him why he had driven around with his rear window down he asked me why I was associating with *racial epithet*. I was shocked.
@6:00PM like we would believe what you said. Facts please. And if he's that bad, Middletowners would be the first ones to voice concerns.
@6:46 for facts please read the following articles and observations.
see especially:
http://wesleyanargus.com/2006/10/31/police-watch-allegations-of-profiling-by-middletown-police-inspire-ongoing-discussions/
see:
http://wesleying.blogspot.com/2006/10/just-facts-maam.html
http://wesleyanargus.com/2008/04/15/clark-harrassed-me/
http://wesleyanargus.com/2007/05/08/question-police-activity-idea-of-suspicious-persons/
http://wesleyanargus.com/2007/04/17/disturbing-police-encounter/
http://wesleyanargus.com/2006/10/31/profiling-should-be-a-concern-for-all/
yO cLARK,
HEre's a tip for ya' there's some drugs from the 70's stashed down at Alpha Delt
I'm actually disgusted to see the small-mindedness of the Wesleyan (blogging?) community demonstrated by your reactions to this issue. Why and how are you turning your brains off?
This officer caught a fucking murder and arson suspect. He put his life in danger. There was no telling whether this murder suspect was armed; he might've murdered Officer Clark, too.
That courage and selflessness, in any rational and objective accounting of things, is worthy of praise. HOWEVER YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FOUNTAIN INCIDENT, the fact that Officer Clark put his life in danger AND took a truly violent individual off the street deserves to be recognized. So if you don't have anything good to say about him, AT LEAST have the decency to shut the fuck up and let the man enjoy his justly-won 15 minutes of fame.
I don't know. This Prall guy sounds like a deranged, evil motherfucker. Does it make any of you, my fellow Wesleyan students, feel better that he's not around to do shit like burn people's houses down (WITH THEM INSIDE, ALIVE)to you?
Sometimes you have to put aside your politics and open your mind. That's called reaching across the aisle, and it's a critical part of living in any human society. NOT ever compromising your politics, even when you SHOULD, blinds you to reality and the result is an epic failure of judgment on your part.
Let the man have his 15 minutes of (WELL DESERVED) fame. If you don't like it, have just a little tiny bit of decency and SHUT THE FUCK UP.
Well said.
funny all the facts listed by 7:55 are only from Wesleyan news source. How fair!!
Hey 7:55, the Argus is not a REAL news source. How about the Courant, or the Middletown Press? How about any of the CT news stations? Stop bashing the guy for doing his JOB! If you're caught drinking in public, then you deserve the ticket. You want to escalate it by getting physical or running from the police, then you're going to get manhandled. You Wes students are so far out of touch with reality! You're sheep among the wolves and MPD is the only thing between you living or getting eaten alive. SHOW SOME DAMN RESPECT!
Um, the point is, this officer will have his 15 minutes of fame regardless of what we say on this blog.
Congratulations, Officer Clark. I sincerely hope all of this attention gives you some pause to reflect. If you want to hang out some time, you can find me at the corner of Court Street and High any weekday night around 2am.
1:08 + 2:29, if you want your news straight from the source, you can ask the MPD themselves about the formal complaint filed by the director of Teens with Talent, when Officer Clark verbally assaulted members or TwT while they were leaving an open mic.
I'm concerned about the comments on the Middletown Press article. It seems some officers have a reputation for making women very uncomfortable. That's cool, way to be professional.
I challenge you to FOI the Teens With Talent complaint! Officer Clark was completely cleared in that complaint. In that incident, it was a person of color pulling out the race card to draw attention to herself and the group which she represents. Officer Clark merely stepped out of his car to investigate what he thought was a fight but was actually kids playing around. No arrest was made by Officer Clark. C'mon guys, get your facts straight. I challenge any of you to get all of the facts and you will see an Officer that is just doing his job and you guys are ragging on him for it! Its a damn shame!
i saw those comments. 1:08 and 2:29 should be glad Wes students are confining their comments to this blog and not the Middletown Press.
Thank you Officer Clark!
Spewing negativity in response to this is like condemning Bill Gates for giving billions of dollars in philanthropy on the grounds that he's also a capitalist. Okay, so Gates doesn't have a record of blatant racism, but my point is, this is a report of Officer Clark doing his job and doing it well -- I fully support him and thank him for that. I have also found positive reinforcement to be a generally more fertile ground for integrity than unconditional scorn.
fuck you jesse o. i bet your a total ugly bitch. hows that for small-mindedness you stuck-up cow.
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