Citizen Report No. 1757704532 - 310854012

CLEET Number :  0033868

License Type :  Fulltime Peace Officer

License Category :  Basic Certification

License Status :  Active

License Effective Date :  03/26/1997

License Expiry Date :  N/A

The scandal that engulfed McCurtain County in 2023 was fueled largely by the conduct of then Sheriff, Kevin Clardy, who has reportedly left the county amid a federal indictment of his former employee, jail supervisor, Cody Johnson. Clardy's present whereabouts are reportedly unknown, a fact that compounds concerns over accountability and transparency. 

Clardy’s departure from McCurtain County in the wake of multiple lawsuits and now a federal indictment tied to his administration underscores the seriousness of his misconduct and the instability it has left behind. 

The former Sheriff’s role in the scandal was central from the beginning. Audio recordings released by the McCurtain Gazette captured the sheriff and others engaging in openly racist conversations and even plotting to kill two journalists who had exposed corruption within his office. These recordings became national news, triggered widespread outrage, and directly contributed to his electoral defeat and removal from office. The journalists targeted in those recordings had been reporting on misconduct for years, including the brutal treatment of nineteen-year-old detainee Roper Harris.

Harris alleged in a federal civil rights complaint that Clardy arrested him at his apartment and orchestrated his beating inside the county jail, over a protective-order dispute linked to for to the then jail administrator, Alicia Manning’s stepdaughter. Harris emerged from custody bloodied, bruised, and with a serious eye injury after being struck at close range with a pepper ball. His civil-rights lawsuit remains in litigation, but recent federal criminal charges against former jail supervisor Cody Johnson for Conspiracy Against Rights strongly corroborate Harris’s account of an orchestrated attack. Johnson has since filed a notice of intent to plead guilty, raising the likelihood that more indictments tied to Clardy’s administration could follow.

The fact that Clardy has now left McCurtain County and reportedly cannot be located heightens the gravity of this misconduct. As the sheriff at the center of the scandal, his absence undermines efforts to hold him accountable and obstructs ongoing civil litigation and potentially obstructs federal criminal proceedings. His unknown whereabouts also prevent meaningful service of process and diminish the ability of courts and investigators to compel his testimony. 

For Brady purposes, Clardy’s disappearance is itself material, as it reflects not only on his credibility but also on his willingness to evade accountability.

Clardy’s actions, direct involvement in a retaliatory arrest and beating, recorded racist rhetoric, and threats against members of the press, demonstrate a pattern of abuse of authority, racial bias, and corruption. Coupled with his unexplained departure from the county, these facts cast a long shadow over every case in which he played a role. His conduct calls into question the integrity of arrests, reports, and prosecutions that originated under his leadership and must be disclosed as Brady material wherever his credibility or investigative actions intersect with criminal proceedings.