Hotel manager says Frank Clark threatened her, admitted to hitting girlfriend
The Seattle Seahawks continue to face scrutiny for drafting Michigan defensive end Frank Clark in the second round, and it only intensified with a report that emerged in the Seattle Times late last week.
According to court documents obtained by the Times, Clark, who was dismissed from Michigan in November after a domestic violence arrest, threatened to hit a female hotel manager and admitted to hitting his girlfriend.
In a statement to police in Sandusky, Ohio, the day after the incident, manager Stephanie Burkhardt wrote that soon after she entered the couple’s hotel room Clark told her, “I will hit you like I hit her” and shouldered her out of the way before leaving. The documents, obtained by The Seattle Times via public-records request, supplement the initial police report.
Reached by The Times via telephone Friday, Burkhardt repeated what she said Clark had told her.
“Yes, he said it,” she said. “I would never lie about something like that.”
Though she did not mention her run-in with Clark the night of the incident, Burkhardt told police of her encounter in an email statement the following day. When policed followed up with her, Burkhardt said she did not want to press assault or threat charges against Clark.
From the Times:
Burkhardt did not mention the comment she attributed to Clark immediately to police the night of the incident or to The Times during an interview earlier this week.
She said she forgot to tell police because she was too exhausted and preoccupied with how (Clark’s girlfriend Diamond) Hurt and her siblings were doing. Burkhardt said she left the scene after 1 a.m. and emailed her statement the following afternoon
Perkins Township Police Chief Kenneth Klamar said Friday that unless Burkhardt pursued charges, there was nothing more police could do. But officers intentionally included the statement in the Clark arrest file obtained by The Times.
“We want the person reading it to get the complete picture of what happened,” Klamar said.
Burkhardt said she didn’t mention his comment during the first interview with The Times out of anxiety and fear of retaliation.
Clark, who spent three days in jail, eventually reached a plea deal in April in which his domestic violence charge was dropped to disorderly conduct and his assault charges were dismissed. Witnesses, including the alleged victim’s brothers, told police that Clark hit Diamond Hurt, his girlfriend, on Nov. 15 at a hotel in Sandusky, Ohio.
A responding officer said that Hurt had “a large welt on the side of her cheek” and “marks on her neck.” Hurt told officers that night that she was “punched in the face” by Clark.
Burkhardt’s statement said she waited inside the hotel room with Hurt and asked Clark to stay in the room until police arrived.
“Frank was putting his shoes on at the end of the bed and told me not to (expletive) talk to him,” her statement said. “On his way out of the room he told me he would hit me like he hit her as well as he shoulder checked me.”
Burkhardt told the Times that she was never contacted by prosecutors before Clark’s charges were reduced.
“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.”
Clark maintains his innocence and the Seahawks have defended the pick. The team did its research on Clark, and Clark’s attorney said the Seahawks “were investigating the incident a day after the arrest.”
“I know they (Seahawks) were on site the day after the incident to find out what the status was,” said Ken Bailey, Clark’s attorney. “I don’t know the names of who they all talked to. I know they were interviewing people at the school — team members, team staff — but I don’t know who.”
Bailey said that he spoke with Clark and Hurt a day after the incident and both said that Clark did not hit her.
“They hadn’t talked to each other and they told me the same story,” Bailey said. “… As long as I’ve been involved, they both have been on that same page – that he didn’t punch her.”
Bailey also said that other teams researched his arrest and were interested in selecting him.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
