Sebring Man Angry Over 'False Arrest'

SEBRING - A father who was mistakenly detained by sheriff's bailiffs who mistook him for his son is an angry man.

He's angry that the mistake happened despite his insistence that they had the wrong man. He's even angrier that they didn't apologize after realizing their mistake.

Wellington E. Clarke Jr., 47, of Sebring, said he was shocked to find himself handcuffed at the Highlands County Courthouse while he was there taking care of personal business June 12.

"I went to court to collect back child support my ex owed," Clarke Jr. said. "The judge said, before you go, you've got unsettled business with the sheriff's office. Three, a lady and two men came up to me and said we've got a warrant."

It was actually two bailiffs and one detention deputy. Clark Jr. then found himself escorted out of the courtroom to a holding cell. All the while, he kept insisting they had the wrong man.

"One of them had the nerve to tell me to be quiet," Clarke Jr. added. "One of them had his hands between the cuffs and kept pulling them tighter."

Clarke Jr.'s son is Wellington Emanuel Clarke III, 23, who is wanted for failure to pay his fine for petty retail theft.

The dad said he looked over his shoulder at the warrant.

"I looked at the birth date," he remembered. "I said that's not me, that's my son. Something happened two years ago, and my son no longer lives in this area, no way. I've got the handcuffs on and he says I'm not going to take them off you until you show me some ID."

Eventually, he was told he was free to go after his ID was checked. But none of them apologized to him, he said.

"This happened in front of my friends and family," he said. "I was in the courthouse. I was through the metal detectors. So there was no cause for it."

Clarke Jr. filed a letter of complaint on June 14, addressed to Sheriff Susan Benton.

"I feel the deputies didn't handle the matter very professional," he wrote. "If they had asked for my identification, the matter would have been cleared and my humiliation and embarrassment would not have taken place in from of my family and all those people."

He told the sheriff that the deputies should have apologized to him and that one is above the law.
Capt. Jeff Barfield, who received the complaint, acknowledged in a memorandum to Maj. Mark Schrader that Clark Jr. was mistakenly detained, and according to a courtroom video, went along without incident.

Bailiff Kate Clements said she apologized and the two men said they did not, the memo added.
"Although the warrant was for a relative with an almost identical name, the age difference of approximately 25 years should have been an obvious indicator that this was not the correct individual," Barfield wrote.

"In addition, bailiff Clements was in direct possession of the confirmation sheet including a photograph of the actual warrant subject. The photo clearly shows a person of significantly younger age. As a result, an error in identity confirmation was committed that failed to properly identify Mr. Clarke."
Barfield recommended a comprehensive evaluation of the warrant service confirmation process within the courthouse and a "refresher training for bailiff's is applicable."

Maj. Schrader recommended that Clements receive additional coaching.
There was, however, no apology included in that recommendation, which is what angered Clarke Jr. in the first place.

Clarke Jr. could not be reached Monday for comment, as he got married Saturday and was on his honeymoon.

Earlier when Clarke Jr. learned he had been "detained," not arrested, he disagreed.
"I don't care what they called it; when someone puts me in handcuffs and says 'You're under arrest,' it's an arrest," he said.

Benton said she was aware of the administrative review.

"I don't think those deputies should apologize," she said. "I think either myself or the major should apologize. We're certainly going to look into contacting him."