A truck driver involved in a physical fight with security guards at a Mississippi distribution center has been found guilty and could face jail time — but he says that he intends to keep fighting the charge.
On Thursday, January 24, truck driver Clinton Kirker was found guilty on a charge of disorderly conduct in a Desoto County court. The charge is related to an altercation between Kirker, his wife Shannon Kirker, and a group of security guards at a distribution center in Olive Branch, Mississippi, on September 11, 2018.
The incident began when the Kirkers arrived at the distribution center to pick up what they thought was a ordinary grocery load. The Kirkers later learned that the load was “pharmaceuticals for the CDC”, but not before the husband and wife team, unfamiliar with the security procedures at the facility, became involved in a physical altercation with several security guards.
After the incident, Clinton Kirker described the forcible detention by the security guards as an assault.
Clinton Kirker was charged with disorderly conduct and assault. Shannon Kirker was not charged.
Video of the incident was released in December ahead of Kirker’s initial court appearance. It soon went viral within the trucking community.
Posted by Clinton Kirker on Saturday, December 1, 2018
Kirker told CDLLife about the guilty charge and his plans to fight it:
“I was found guilty of interfering with a business disorderly conduct. The punishment is 6 months probation, 30 days in jail with a $500 fine. I plan to appeal the decision and have asked for help to cover the costs to appeal through donations. I’ve received enough to pay my attorney to start the appeal.”
The judge issued the guilty verdict on the disorderly conduct charge because the truck was blocking the entrance to the distribution center, Kirker explained.
Kirker was found not guilty on his assault charge.
Kirker has vowed to fight the charge, not just for himself, but for other drivers who might find themselves in similar circumstances with security guards. In a Facebook Live video posted just after the verdict, Kirker said, “This basically states that we as truck drivers have no rights. We have to do whatever [security guards] tell us to do even though they are not police.”
Kirker said, “I can’t stop now. I have to fight this.”