A Thief River Falls woman has been charged in Pennington County District Court after she allegedly strangled her teenage daughter to the point that the girl nearly passed out Monday morning. At the time, Susie Edana Clark was out of jail on conditions of release for another incident in which she strangled the girl in September.
Clark, 38, has been charged with felony domestic assault by strangulation and misdemeanor fleeing an officer by means other than a motor vehicle. She was arrested after she allegedly attempted to run from law enforcement at Sanford Medical Center.
The complaint indicated that police observed red marks on the girl’s neck. It was unclear whether she sought medical attention.
According to the complaint, Clark called the police at 9:32 a.m. Monday, saying her daughter had just tried to stab her. The school resource officer and Deputy Police Chief Mike Roff spoke to the girl, who was visibly upset.
The girl allegedly said they argued with her mom getting into her face, placing her hand close to the girl’s face, and yelling at her to the point that the girl became scared due to the prior incident.
After Clark swore and yelled at her, the girl said she grabbed and held a knife. Her mom then began running toward her. The girl, who was scared, said she then swung the knife since she didn’t know what to do.
At different points in her conversation with the police, the girl said she didn’t want to hurt her mom. Clark then allegedly threw her to the ground and choked the girl to the point she nearly passed out. The girl told police that Clark was “using,” but she was acting differently than she had in the past. She said Clark had been drinking alcohol and she believed Clark was also using methamphetamine.
The police investigator and a sheriff’s deputy waited at the scene until someone could care for Clark’s 3-year-old daughter. The investigator noticed that Clark was “extremely emotional and was very up and down with her attitude. He also observed Clark to be yelling a lot and interrupting people when they were trying to speak with her.” Since Clark was showing signs of impairment and was out of jail on conditions of release, he administered a preliminary breath test. It had a result of 0.00.
The deputy asked Clark if she would pass a urinalysis if she were tested. She allegedly said she wouldn’t pass a urinalysis since she had been using meth for the past three nights.
Clark agreed to go to the ER and consider obtaining treatment.
The deputy told Clark that she wouldn’t arrest Clark on the conditions of release violation if she cooperated with law enforcement. Clark later tested positive for meth, amphetamine, and THC at the hospital.
A short time later, police learned she had gone to the clinic to try to call someone to pick her up. Police also soon learned that the Sanford crisis team wouldn’t admit her.
Clark returned to the hospital. The school resource officer yelled at her to stop, but she said something indiscernible, turned around, and allegedly continued walking. He continued to shout at her to come to talk with him, but she exited the hospital and ran. Chief Deputy Sheriff Scott Mekash was on that side of the building and was able to grab her as she ran toward a field.
She was then arrested.