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An American Hero?

By Andrew Ramonas

A Death In The Virgin Islands

When an off-duty agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives shot and killed a man in the Virgin Islands almost two years ago, the case received scant attention on the mainland. Since then, the incident has unfolded into a bitter legal battle pitting Justice Department officials against territorial authorities. It has laid bare the resentments behind the public façade of cooperation and amicability between Washington and St. Thomas. This four-part exclusive series explores the tragic shooting, the rights of an off-duty federal agent in the Virgin Islands, the tense relationship between federal and territorial authorities and the intensifying political debate in the U.S. Congress over whether the ATF agent should be honored as a hero before a territorial court has even ruled on his guilt or innocence. ?

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Part Four: An American Hero?

A shooting in 2008 by a federal agent at a Virgin Islands condominium has not only prompted local authorities to bring manslaughter charges against the agent. It has provoked a heated debate in the territorial legislature and the U.S. Congress and spawned hard feelings between the United States and the U.S. territory.

Rep. Christopher Lee (R-N.Y.) introduced a resolution in July honoring William G. Clark, a special agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who has said in legal documents that he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot a neighbor, Marcus Sukow. Clark, who was off-duty at the time, said he shot Sukow after intervening in a domestic dispute between Sukow and the man’s girlfriend.

Lee wrote in a June 30 letter to House members that Clark’s actions were ?heroic, not criminal.? The agent is a native of Rochester, which is near the congressman’s district.

?Special Agent William G. Clark, a heroic man who puts his life on the line each day to protect the safety of others, is being wrongfully accused of murder and needs your help,? Lee wrote. The resolution has 24 co-sponsors, including four Democrats.

Rep. Christopher Lee (R-N.Y.) and Del. Donna Christensen (D-V.I.) have different opinions on whether William Clark, a special agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, should be honored for allegedly killing a man in self-defense. (Photos: Provided by the U.S. government)

Lee?s efforts have aroused complaints from Virgin Islands Del. Donna Christensen (D). In response to Lee, Christensen sent her own letter to House members on July 14, calling Lee’s resolution “inappropriate.”

“I respectfully request that Members of Congress not jump to conclusions on this matter and do not support this resolution which would be no more than a public relations tool to provide support for a defendant before the court,” wrote Christensen, a non-voting House member. “The people of the U.S. Virgin Islands believe in the American system of justice and believe that Agent Clark will receive a fair hearing before the courts.”

Clark, who has pleaded not guilty, is out on bail awaiting trial and continues to work for the ATF, a Justice Department agency. The DOJ is paying for Clark?s legal defense, and federal authorities have defended him, indicating their disapproval of the decision to try the agent for the killing.

Current territorial laws do not explicitly recognize federal agents like Clark as law enforcement officials. Without this recognition, federal agents acting in their official capacities might not receive the special standing bestowed on their Virgin Islands counterparts in territorial court proceedings.

In a scathing May 2009 letter obtained by a local news website, the St. Thomas Source, former acting U.S. Attorney Paul Murphy of the Virgin Islands wrote to territorial Attorney General Vincent F. Frazer that federal law enforcement officials in the territory fear they would be “treated by the [Virgin Islands Police Department] and your office as no more than ‘private citizens’ should something happen during their assistance.”

In response to such complaints, the Virgin Islands legislature is working on a bill that would give federal law enforcement officials rights that might have benefited the ATF agent.

The territorial attorney general, who supports the bill, has said the territory recognizes the agents as law enforcement officials when they are invited by the territorial authorities to assist in Virgin Islands police work, according to the St. Thomas Source.

Federal law enforcement agents have said the bill is meaningless.

Jonathan Adler, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, which represents 25,000 officers, including ATF agents, said the bill is a “pathetic plea” to get support from federal law enforcement officials. The ATF pulled out its agents from Virgin Islands in November 2008 over the territory’s handling of the Clark case. Adler said, “It means nothing.”

Clark, meanwhile, is trying to move forward with his life as the battle over his case plays out.

Since the killing, he has moved back to upstate New York where he has a fiance and a young son.

An individual who knows the ATF agent said he is doing well, but “under a tremendous amount of stress.”

If convicted, Clark could spend several years in a Virgin Islands prison, living among inmates who received their sentences through the efforts of law enforcement officials like him.

Clark’s trial is slated to begin in October.

Full post as published by Main Justice on August 17, 2010 (boomark / email).