Meet Lieutenant Clay Higgins of the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Department in Opelousas. Earlier this year, the Washington Post took notice of Higgins, saying he “may be the most irresistibly intimidating man in America.” Other parts of the internet have dubbed him as “The Cajun John Wayne” for very good reason.
Higgins earned this title after busting onto the St. Landry Crime Stoppers team six months ago. He’s an Army veteran who takes no crap, and his most recent Crime Stoppers video has gone viral. Higgins is searching for a thief who broke into “local favorite” Stelly’s Supermarket, which “represents Southern hospitality at its best.” The manner in which he addresses the thief may make you wet your pants:
“If you’re the man who committed this felony, look at me, son. I’m talking to you! The sheriff likes Stelly’s restaurant, and so do I. The food here is good, and the folks are friendly. We’re going to identify you, arrest you, and put you in a small cell. After that, I’m gonna have a cheeseburger here. With fries and a coke. And leave a nice tip for the waitress. Meanwhile, your next meal will be served through a small hole in a cell door. Because our detectives harvested DNA on the rock that you used, and you left a perfect boot print on the door you kicked in. But we won’t have to wait on lab results ’cause you’re on St. Landry Crime Stoppers tonight. Congratulations, son. I’m about to make you famous. By tomorrow, a hundred thousand people will have watched you commit a felony. You will be recognized, and the people who know you don’t really like you anyway. So when it comes down to a choice between you and a thousand dollars, they’ll take the cash.
Yes, Higgins will make this criminal famous. In only a few days, the YouTube video amassed hundreds of thousands of views. Higgins has at least a few more classics under his belt already. In June, he admonished a thief on a bicycle with this dialogue:
“Listen to me. I’m talking to you now! What exactly is your major malfunction? Are you a drug addict? We can fix that in jail … It seems to me that jail is your very best option. Or you can keep breaking into homes, stealing and robbing, a petty thief running from one shadow to another. Wild man, you can’t peddle away from your life of despair.”
This next video tops them all. In April, Higgins asked a fugitive named Ladarious Young to “start to make things right” by turning himself in for his crimes. Higgins warned Young, “You can’t hide from what you’ve done.” Young surrendered himself the very next day.
(Via YouTube and Washington Post)