Embarassing, as is your ego, Mr. Madore, though it fits right in with Hedrick’s gall and nerve.

The comments I have received since this interview have been overwhelmingly favorable. My wife and I appreciate all of the support and prayers that have come our way.

I was offered interviews about this topic by some in the mainstream media. Instead, I accepted an interview with David Madore because I could be confident that my words would not be cut and spun, but would stand on their own for good or bad. For those familiar with the media, that can be a very difficult thing to find.

My wife was largely the driving force behind my acceptance of the interview. She considers it a form of restitution for her actions as it may serve to help others who suffer through similar struggles. We all make mistakes in life. When we fall short of our own standards and harm others, it’s important to recognize our mistakes, admit them, seek forgiveness, make some form of restitution when possible, learn from the experience and move on benefiting from the knowledge gained. In this case, making the truth just as public as the lie was part of that process. For someone who shy’s away from the public eye, that took courage and I am proud of my wife for choosing to do it.

For my part, while I am very pleased with my conduct and the choices I made that particular evening, I certainly don’t always behave in a way that’s beyond criticism. None of us do. If you’re looking for perfection, you showed up about 2,000 years too late. I’m not capable of perfection. Not even close. Personally analyzing some of my most glaring flaws, I’m quite amazed that my wife manages to put up with me. I won’t attempt to list them here for fear that this would become a novel, but I will say that when you are not a political activist, being married to one must be absolutely exhausting.

I also wanted to clarify something that came up in the interview. I have no direct knowledge that this particular city Prosecutor, who is cross-deputized to work for Clark County, had any specific political ax to grind. I was rather clumsily attempting to say that there are many people who would like to silence a voice from the Tea Party and as a result the pressure and attention surrounding this case obviously affected the Prosecutor’s ability to do the right thing. I don’t know what his personal politics are, but I suspect that career ambition played a part. His actions amount to prosecutorial misconduct regardless of his political affiliation.

I was arrested and charged because I am male, victim or not, per Clark County’s unwritten policy. This was not a mystery to anyone who had access to the evidence in this case, including the prosecutor. In fact, the arresting Deputy said as much in a recorded deposition the Prosecutor attended, so this detail was never even a subject of dispute. If this sounds absurd, that’s because it is.

When the Deputy’s inappropriate conduct, unconstitutional actions and unlawful arrest were discovered, a completely different series of events should have transpired. All charges should have been immediately dropped. A public apology should have been forthcoming for causing an innocent person to spend three days of his life wrongfully incarcerated. A review of Clark County’s policies should have been conducted to determine the extent of the discriminatory DV policies and recommendations should have been provided to fix them if necessary. These recommendations should have been reviewed and implemented ensuring equal rights under the law for all citizens regardless of sex. The Deputy involved should have received disciplinary action and remedial training to address his blatant violations of constitutional rights. This would have been the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, while arresting and prosecuting men on roughly every domestic violence call is standard Clark County policy, it seems that doing the right thing isn’t. Rather than confess what they had done, in an apparent attempt to hide the truth, they knowingly prosecuted an innocent person. They sheltered the reputation of the government entities involved and protected their established systems, by turning against the very individual their position exists to protect. They even asked the court to prevent me from talking about their conduct with the media. Their message was loud and clear. If you are a male victim of domestic violence in Clark County, you had better shut up and take the beating you deserve. This is unacceptable.

Because they will not take corrective action on their own, I plan to change these discriminatory policies for them. Edmund Burke is attributed with saying, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good me do nothing.” I disagree. Anyone who does nothing when confronted with evil, is not a good man. Far too many innocent men in Clark County have been targeted by the system that is supposed to protect them. This will not stop until someone steps forward to compel change. Domestic violence must be taken seriously, even when the perpetrator and victim do not meet the Clark County’s approved stereotype. While it may be easier and more politically prudent to walk away and put this whole thing behind me, it’s become an unfortunate reality that I must take legal action to fix the problems that these “public servants” of Clark County are unwilling or unable to remedy on their own. If I don’t, the next time an innocent man is targeted by this group, I would share in the blame. I promised my supporters some time ago that I would not make decisions based on what was politically popular, but would instead focus on doing what I believe is right and let the political chips fall where they may. That is what I intend to do and unlike what happened at my trial, I assure you, the defendants in this case are going to have to say a lot more than, “the defense rests.”

David W. Hedrick