Testimony continued on Wednesday before the Human Rights Commission in the case of Josh Clark versus T.J. McDermott for political discrimination.

One witness was Dr. Tom Clucas, a Missoula Clinical Psychologist, who has treated Clark for several years. He was initially called by Clark's attorneys to discuss how the stress of his profession as a Deputy Sheriff, Captain, Undersheriff and then patrolman affected his mental health, opening the door for the county's attorney to bring up various episodes in Clark's life regarding his father, the late Municipal Judge Wallace Clark and his older brother.

Clark's attorney, Quentin Rhoades clarified the role that the hearings examiner Caroline Holien plays in the case.

"This proceeding is for a judge to act as a fact finder to see is she agrees that one, whether there was discrimination in the case, or retaliation, and two, if she finds that there has been, to determine the amount of damages," Rhoades explained. "Her job in the case is to determine as a matter of fact, whether there was discrimination and retaliation, and then if she agrees with the investigator, to determine as a matter of fact, the amount of damages that were caused by the discrimination or retaliation that she might find."

Another witness was Dale Williams a CPA, who addressed the issue of lost wages and benefits due to his forced early retirement. Clark's attorney, Quentin Rhoades asked Williams to quantify the net amounts Clark would have realized had he been able to stay on at the sheriff's office until retirement, starting at age 50, then 55 and then 60.

"If he'd retired at age 50, the net loss is $211,933, at age 55 the loss would be $592, 764, and at age 60, the loss would have been $905,231," Williams said.

Testimony will continue on Thursday at the Grant Creek Inn at 9:00 a.m.

 

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