A former Schuylkill County cop facing charges with his partner in an alleged Minersville police brutality incident appeared in District Court Monday morning on a recent DUI charge.
Richard Clink waived his right to a preliminary hearing on a DUI charge and other traffic offenses on Monday in Magisterial District Judge James Reiley’s court. Those charges are now headed to Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas.
State Police stopped the 52-year-old Clink on Aug. 31 after spotting his gold Jeep Wrangler traveling along Peacock Street in Pottsville with an expired registration and making what Troopers described as sudden, erratic movements.
When officers walked up to the driver’s side window, they reported detecting a strong smell of alcohol.
Clink told Troopers he was on his way to a nearby friend’s house. Asked whether he had been drinking, he initially paused but later acknowledged consuming about half a bottle of wine after officers noted the odor, police say.
Troopers directed Clink to step out of his Jeep and stand in front of their patrol vehicle, though he allegedly needed multiple prompts to position himself. After administering Field Sobriety Tests, police took him into custody on suspicion of DUI.
Investigators say Clink refused further testing and was transported back to his Minersville home before being released. Charges were filed Sept. 10, including misdemeanor DUI and a summary count for driving with an expired registration.
A DUI conviction would jeopardize Clink’s existing federal bail conditions in a separate case in which he is charged with deprivation of rights and filing false reports.
The federal judge presiding over that case recently updated Clink’s bail conditions to prohibit him from drinking alcohol entirely.
Clink and his former partner on the Minersville police force back on Feb. 2, 2022, Harry Brown, allegedly used excessive force when they beat a man in the street after pulling him over in a traffic stop.
Eyewitness video purportedly shows Brown and Clink working over the suspect, Tasing him several times and punching him about the body and head.
The two officers then filed false reports on the incident, a federal indictment alleges.
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