Sheriff David Clarke Detains Drunk Passenger on Flight

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke intervened during a flight to Charlotte last weekend when a drunk passenger was disruptive and said the black sheriff is "not one of us."

According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, Clarke was flying from Milwaukee to Charlotte on Saturday and was berated during the flight by passenger Preston Bluntson, 36.

Clarke left his seat near the rear of the 12-row plane when Bluntson started arguing with a flight attendant. He told the man to "chill out."

Police said Bluntson, an African-American, was drunk and announced several times during the flight Clarke was on the plane. Clarke often appears on cable news shows and even gave a speech at the Republican National Convention. He has also been critical of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Clarke instructed the flight attendant to call the airport police and have them meet the plane when it arrived.

Bluntson stood up at the end of the flight before he was supposed to. When he disobeyed Clarke's order to sit, the sheriff got physical.

"Clarke ordered him to sit down and when he refused, Clarke shoved the unruly passenger face down and pinned him against the seat and held him there until the flight arrived at the gate," the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office said.

"The sheriff watched the rest of the cabin, concerned that this may be a distraction for something else.

"A police officer boarded the flight and the Sheriff asked for her handcuffs and pulled both arms behind the suspect's back and handcuffed him. The airport police took hold of the suspect and escorted him off the plane."

Bluntson was charged with being intoxicated and disruptive in public, although Clarke said he felt mid-flight incidents should be federal offenses.

An anonymous passenger told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Clarke took a lot of abuse.

"The guy was very abusive," the passenger said. "Probably the last 20 minutes it really escalated and focused on Clarke."

Bluntson reportedly told Clarke he was responsible for "closing our parks" and said he is "not one of us."

"In all my years flying, I've never seen anything like it," the passenger said. "The sheriff handled himself extremely well. It could have gotten a lot worse because the guy was not backing down."

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