New York, NY – Yesterday, the family of Antonio Williams, the Justice Committee, and Communities United for Police Reform met with the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) to discuss the investigations into NYPD officers, Sgt. Jason Valentino, Det. Daniel Beddows, and Officers Brian Mahon, Keith Figueroa and Robert Wichers, who killed Mr. Williams nearly 2 years ago in the Bronx.
On September 29, 2019, Antonio Williams was waiting for a taxi on the street when plainclothes officers in an unmarked vehicle jumped out of their car and began to chase him without cause. NYPD officers escalated their unconstitutional stop, tackled, and beat Mr. Williams, recklessly opening fire, killing both Williams and NYPD officer Brian Mulkeen in a hail of 15 bullets – some shot from over 50 feet away.
Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD have obstructed transparency and accountability for Antonio Williams’ family at every step, refusing to release the names of officers responsible for months, and providing no update to the family about whether or not there has been any investigation or discipline of officers. Yesterday, the CCRB confirmed they will begin an investigation into the killing. Antonio Williams’ family and organizers are calling on Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD to fire all the officers responsible for killing Antonio and for the CCRB to carry out the investigation expeditiously.
Below are statements from the Shawn Williams and Gladys Williams, father and stepmother of Antonio Williams; Nicole Johnson, sister of Antonio Williams; David B. Rankin, the Williams’ family attorney of Beldock Levine & Hoffman, LLP; and Loyda Colon, the Executive Director of the Justice Committee.
“Next week will mark 2 years since our son was racially profiled and murdered while waiting for a cab. He was unconstitutionally stopped by a violent NYPD plainclothes unit, chased, beaten, and killed. Nobody has been held accountable since," said Shawn Williams (he/him), father of Antonio Williams and Gladys Williams (she/her), stepmother of Antonio Williams. "Our family’s suffering has been unbearable for the past two years.The Bronx DA Darcel Clark, Mayor de Blasio, and the NYPD have made it worse by trying to wash their hands of Antonio’s killing and keep our family in the dark. It’s good the CCRB opened an investigation, but it shouldn’t have taken this long and we shouldn’t have to jump through all these hoops for basic information about what happened when Antonio was killed. We’re demanding that Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD fire Sgt. Jason Valentino, Det. Daniel Beddows, and Officers Brian Mahon, Keith Figueroa and Robert Wichers, and all the other officers who engaged in misconduct, and we are urging the CCRB to move as quickly as possible to complete their investigation.”
“Getting the call that my brother was killed by the NYPD was the worst moment of my life,” said Nicole Johnson, sister of Antonio Williams. “It’s been two years, and it’s only because the CCRB is finally investigating that we may get some answers that the NYPD and Mayor de Blasio have never provided. Mayor de Blasio, Bronx DA Darcel Clark, and the NYPD have disrespected my family at every turn and have so far failed to fire the officers or even hold anyone accountable.Two years is too long to wait without any accountability. My brother should still be alive and the officers who killed him and engaged in misconduct must be fired so that they can never cause another family this kind of pain.”
"We are heartened by the CCRB's seriousness and compassion in investigating the killing of Antonio Williams. We look forward to a speedy and unbiased investigation," said David B. Rankin, Partner, Beldock Levine & Hoffman, LLP.
“The NYPD officers who killed Antonio Williams made an unconstitutional stop, chased and beat him, tackled him, and shot him in a hail of 15 bullets. Some shot from over 50 feet away in the dark,” said Loyda Colon (they/them), Executive Director of the Justice Committee and a spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform. “The killing of Antonio Williams and officer Brian Mulkeen, was the direct result of the NYPD’s violent, unconstitutional, and reckless actions, yet nobody has been held accountable. Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD still have the power to fire the officers tomorrow—these officers should not still be on the force. We’re demanding that Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD fire Sgt. Jason Valentino, Det. Daniel Beddows, Officers Brian Mahon, Keith Figueroa and Robert Wichers and all the other officers who engaged in misconduct, and that the CCRB investigate quickly and thoroughly.”
Background:
On September 29, 2019, Antonio Williams was standing on the street, waiting for a taxi, when plainclothes officers in an unmarked car jumped out at him in the middle of the night. NYPD officers chased, tackled, and beat Mr. Williams. NYPD officers recklessly opened fire, killing both Williams and an NYPD officer, Brian Mulkeen, in a reckless hail of 15 bullets – some shot from over 50 feet away. For two years, NYPD has offered no explanation for why officers jumped out at Williams in the middle of the night, when he was just waiting for a cab, and has never articulated reasonable suspicion required to stop Antonio.
After the Williams family demanded they be able to view an NYPD-produced video before it was publicly released, the NYPD promised the Williams family they would delay public release so that all interested members of the Williams family could view footage. Late Thursday, December 12, 2019, the Williams family was informed that the City and NYPD would no longer honor their promise and would proceed with releasing the video on Friday, December 13, 2019, even though not all members of the Williams family, including his mother Chanel McCray, were able to travel to NYC to view the footage with this last-minute change. The NYPD has still not publicly released the full, unedited body camera footage.
In November of 2020, the family of Antonio Williams sued the City of New York and the NYPD following the release of security footage that supports the family’s statements that the NYPD engaged in an unconstitutional stop, unnecessarily escalated the interaction, and recklessly killed Williams and a fellow officer. It’s been more than a year and a half and Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD have not provided full FOIL disclosures related to the killing.
The CCRB is now investigating the officers responsible for stopping, brutalizing, and killing Antonio Williams.
The Williams family is calling for the firing of all officers who recklessly shot a hail of 15 bullets, killing Antonio Williams and a fellow officer: NYPD Sgt. Jason Valentino, Det. Daniel Beddows, and Officers Brian Mahon, Keith Figueroa and Robert Wichers.
About Communities United for Police Reform
Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory and abusive policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and reduces reliance on policing. CPR runs coalitions of over 200 local, statewide and national organizations, bringing together a movement of community members, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change. The partners in this campaign come from all 5 boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those most unfairly targeted by the NYPD.