On Wednesday, March 22, Stephen A. Smith had a chance encounter with a man whose been known, in much the way he's become known, to side against popular opinion in the Black community when it comes to social and political matters. Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke.

Smith and Clarke bumped into one another out in L.A., and it appears that the latter of the two men was so geeked to have made the connection, that he requested that they snap a photo with one another before rushing to share the news on social media. "Ran into @stephenasmith in Beverly Hills," Clarke later tweeted. "Admire courage of not ALWAYS taking the popular position in the hood on some black cultural issues."

One can only speculate on whether or not their politics would have been the most immediate thing on Clarke's mind to make note of, had the coincidental run-in occurred with Bomani Jones, Mike Hill, or even such non-Black commentators as Colin Cowherd or Dan Le Batard. Without over analyzing the tweet, though, it is clear that Clarke felt it significant enough to publicize the fact that he feels he identifies with Smith in that area. Smith would go on to respond to the tweet by distinguishing that while he doesn't feel as though they particularly see eye to eye on most matters, he respects the man for speaking out as he has.

"Thank you sir, @SheriffClarke. A bit more liberal than you. Don't always agree. But respect where you're coming from, as well.#GodBless," Smith tweeted back.

Earlier this week, Clarke made headlines in a fashion that has become typical for the Sheriff. It was announced that he is named in a class-action lawsuit against Milwaukee prisons, by women inmates who claim they were forced to give birth in shackles. The suit lists around 40 prisoners whose emotional and physical health was impacted by the experience. It is not the first scandal Clarke has been tied up in as the superior authority overseeing the city's prison system. Last year, one woman wound up giving birth to a dead newborn after being left to give birth on the floor of her cell, and one inmate was reported as having died of dehydration, with some of his peers in the prison attesting to having overheard him beg for water.

Clarke rose to prominence in 2016 as an outspoken opponent of the Black Lives Matter movement. Videos of him blasting the group as "black slime," comparing them to ISIS, and stating that they ought to be "eradicated from American society," circulate the web, as does testimony of him implying that NYPD choking victim Eric Garner's death had to do with his weight, and not the outlawed restraining technique applied to him as he lay on the ground without resisting. And following his appearance at the Republican National Convention, where he gave a speech on law and order, Clarke kept his militant approach to policing going when he called the National Guard to be on standby during a wave of protests that turned violent, following the shooting of a black man by an officer in the city.

Source: blacksportsonline.com