‘I Have the Right to Ask!’: White Deputy Seen Attacking Black Man Who Fought Back Against Claims That He ‘Matched the Description’ Has Lies Exposed on Bodycam, Now He’s Facing a Lawsuit
Despite knowing his actions were being recorded by his own body camera, a Washington sheriff’s deputy falsely accused an innocent Black man of assaulting him – when video footage shows it was the cop attacking the Black man after claiming he matched the description of another Black man.
Then after attacking and handcuffing Joshua Clark, Spokane County sheriff’s deputy Samuel Turner pulled out Clark’s drivers license, only to discover he had attacked the wrong Black man.
That was when he muted his body camera for almost six minutes as he explained the situation to his sergeant who had arrived on the scene after the initial confrontation, apparently concocting a false narrative to justify his violent attack on Clark.
Clark, who spent the night in jail, was charged with felony assault on a police officer — which carries a five-year sentence — as well as two misdemeanors; obstruction and resisting arrest. All charges were dismissed five months later.
Last week, Clark, 35, filed a lawsuit obtained by Atlanta Black Star, against Turner, Spokane Police Chief Dave Ellis and the city itself, accusing the defendants of violating his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizures, false arrest, malicious prosecution and negligence.
According to the lawsuit filed by attorney Joshua Mauer, the entire arrest was based on racism.
The behavior and actions of Officer Turner towards Joshua Clark is a result of discriminatory practices wherein Caucasian suspects are treated significantly different than minority suspects being investigated for the same or similar conduct.
Furthermore, the entire basis for Officer Turner’s stop and seizure was tethered together by threads of racism.
Officer Turner initiated a seizure of Mr. Clark and his vehicle because he “matched the description” of a felony suspect.
However, the only similar characteristics between Mr. Clark and the felony suspect was their African-American race.
Turner’s actions on video are consistent with the actions of law enforcement officers throughout the country that are now being caught on video, who continually harass, attack and arrest Black people for “matching the description” of another Black person.
Had it not been for the video, Clark could easily be serving a five-year prison sentence.
Watch video of the arrest below.
Unprovoked Attack
The incident took place on Oct. 1, 2023, as Clark was sitting in his van parked in front of the extended stay hotel where he was staying at with his mother. Clark was smoking a cigarette inside his van because he was not allowed to smoke in the room.
The video shows Turner pull up behind Clark’s van in his patrol car before walking up to the van and opening the door.
“How are you doing, sir?” Turner said. “Is your name Willie?”
Clark, who appears taken aback by the sudden intrusion into his affairs, tells him, “no.”
“There’s a Willie associated with this vehicle that is trespassed from here,” Turner said.
“Not this vehicle,” Clark tries to assure him but Turner began demanding his identification.
But Clark refused to comply with the unlawful order since the deputy had no reasonable suspicion he was involved in a crime other than sharing the same skin tone as another Black man named Willie Frank Burns.
“There is no reason for it,” Clark said. “I have told you I’m not this person.”
“How am I going to verify that without seeing your ID?” Turner asked.
“Well, you can ask any of the staff members here if I am trespassing,” Clark responded.
“I’m asking you,” Turner replied.
But Clark stood his ground, refusing to provide his identification but telling the cop his name was “Josh.”
That was when Turner pulled him out of the car and onto the ground, ordering him to “stop fighting” – when the video shows Clark was merely protesting the unlawful arrest.
“I’m not fighting,” Clark pleaded as the cop tried to handcuff him, calling him a “motherf_cker” while accusing him of grabbing onto his neck which was another lie.
A male voice can be heard off-camera telling the cop that Clark lived there and asking him why he was being arrested.
“I am conducting an investigation and he decided he wanted to fight with me,” Turner claimed.
“I haven’t fought anybody,” Clark said.
According to court documents in the Spokane County online court system, Clark was accused of reaching backward with his left arm and wrapping it around Turner’s neck “in a rear Guillotine chokehold, actively assaulting him.”
But the video shows it would have been physically impossible for Clark to have reached backward with his arm as Turner placed his body weight on him.
“The allegation of Officer Turner is not supported by the available video evidence, witness accounts or physical evidence, and is grossly inaccurate,” the claim states.