Clark also led the sheriff’s Special Operations Team and often gave media briefings regarding incidents involving the department.
The former major said he intends to place more emphasis on drug enforcement, if he is elected sheriff.
“Through my career I’ve seen a lot of violent crime — home invasions, burglaries, all that stuff,” Clark said. “When you bring people in, you talk to them [and] you find out the root cause behind it is because they’re addicted to drugs. They’re trying to get something to go buy drugs, or they’re selling drugs.”
Burchett fired Clark on March 15 — shortly after the 911 dispatch center opened.
A letter the Springfield News-Sun obtained using public records laws and signed by Burchett said Clark was “terminated because I have lost trust in you as my fiduciary.”
Burchett also sent a letter to her department and other county department heads that said Clark was no longer an employee and should not be allowed into secured areas of the sheriff’s office without an escort.
Clark said the firing, which came an hour after he returned from a short vacation, was unexpected and there was “no indication” that Burchett was unsatisfied with his performance. He said Burchett indicated in prior conversations that he was reliable and dedicated.
Clark worked for the sheriff’s office for nearly 26 years. He received the Ohio Distinguished Law Enforcement Valor Award in 2011 from then-Attorney General Mike DeWine.
Clark’s personnel file includes a number of awards and honors, including Meritorious Service Awards and the Sheriff’s Award, the department’s highest honor, which recognized to the public, co-workers and supervisors “what a Clark County deputy should be … the best of the best.”
Burchett on Monday declined to share specific details on why she fired Clark. She referred to the letter indicating she no longer trusted him.
“Your administration should be all on the same page … If you have somebody else that is going behind your back, doing things that shouldn’t be done and saying things that shouldn’t be said, then you lose trust in that person,” Burchett said Monday.
Burchett wouldn’t share what Clark said because she said she doesn’t “play dirty politics,” but said she only fires people if she has a legitimate reason.
Clark is a lifelong resident of Clark County and a 1994 Southeastern High School graduate as well as graduate of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy – Clark State College. He is married to his wife of 24 years, Julie, and has three children.
His work at the sheriff’s office included roles as a communications dispatcher, jail deputy, in uniform patrol and on the Criminal Investigations Division.
Clark said becoming sheriff has been a goal throughout his career, and while he was employed at the sheriff’s office, he intended to run for the position after Burchett finished her tenure. He said after he was fired he decided to “move forward with my personal goals and make this county a better place for its residents” with his bid for sheriff.
Clark, who is also the Madison Twp. Fire and EMS chief, said he views his termination as a “blessing in disguise.”
“I’m looking forward to the next year’s campaign and becoming sheriff in 2024,” Clark said.
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