Hotel manager Stephanie Burkhardt says Seahawks rookie Frank Clark threatened her following an incident in which the former Michigan star defensive end is accused of punching his then-girlfriend. Burkhardt told police of Clark’s threat to “hit you like I hit her” during the original police investigation, and repeated it to The Seattle Times.
Burkhardt said Sandusky Prosecutor Lynne Gast-King never contacted her before her decision to reduce Clark’s charges from first-degree misdemeanor domestic violence and assault to fourth-degree persistent disorderly conduct. Clark completed a 25-week domestic-violence awareness course and paid $350 in fines and court costs.
“I don’t know why they didn’t even question me about it,” Burkhardt said. “He straight up admitted to hitting her, and they didn’t do anything about it.’’
The Times also covered a number of other newly-released facts about the case, including that a witness told police she comforted three young children who told her “their sister’s boyfriend was punching her in the face,” that Clark falsely claimed his girlfriend “had been drinking” before the incident, and that Clark claimed his father “was a Chief of Police,’’ something Clark’s father denied to the newspaper.
The Seahawks maintain Clark never struck his girlfriend.
[Hotel manager told police Frank Clark said, ‘I will hit you like I hit her,’ The Seattle Times]
Photo credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
To contact the author of this post, write to tim@deadspin.com (PGP key) or find him on Twitter @bubbaprog.