"It was so obvious on its face that they so flagrantly failed to meet their burden that a kindergarten student holding a gavel would have drawn the same conclusion that Judge Ross did," Jon Adler, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), tells POLICE Magazine.
The dismissal is also being reported by
WHEC.com
, an NBC affiliate in Rochester, N.Y., where Clark's family still lives.
Rep. Chris Lee
released a statement praising the judge's decision.
"As I have said from the beginning, Will is a hero, not a murderer, and I'm so grateful the judge looked at the facts of the case and agreed," according to Lee. "Our law enforcement officers need to know that they will not be prosecuted for taking lawful actions to protect the innocent, whether they are on duty or off."
Clark, 35, an agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, was on trial for second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and using a dangerous weapon stemming from his shooting of Marcus Sukow during a domestic dispute.
Clark had come to the aid of a Sukow's girlfriend,
Marguerite Duncan
, during a domestic dispute. Sukow charged Clark with a large flashlight and ignored the agent's lawful orders, prior to Clark discharging his service weapon and killing Sukow.