A former Jersey City police captain has been fired by the Florida police department where he has worked since 2021.
According to reporting by The Daytona Beach News-Journal, the DeLand Florida police department terminated former JCPD captain, Francisco “Frank” Williams, after he allegedly made racist, sexist, and homophobic statements to colleagues.
An internal affairs report looked at 15 allegations against Williams brought by 10 people. It found that evidence supported 11 of charges. Williams was cleared of four.
The allegations included making sexually explicit comments about a female representative from Stetson College at 5k run, calling the DeLand department “a bunch of dumb-f***k rednecks,” calling a detective a “f***ing f***got and referring to a trainer with emergency services as a c**t.
Williams denied making all but one of the statements. He admitted to using the word “f**got” in a training “scenario.”
Yesterday, the City of DeLand sent an email to the media. “After a thorough internal affairs investigation, the City Manager and Police Chief have determined that Captain Francisco Williams’ employment can no longer continue with the city. Williams was terminated effective Tuesday.”
According the the DeLand Police Department’s website, Williams arrived with an impressive resume, including having spent 26 years with the Jersey City Police Department, where he rose to Lieutenant and Captain. The website says he had served as Executive Director of the Jersey City Police Athletic League since 2005 and had been the recipient of awards including Officer of the Year in 2007 and Supervisor of the Year in 2015. It lists numerous other professional associations and educational achievements.
In 2020, Mayor Fulop promoted Williams to the rank of captain.
Before arriving in Florida, Williams was one of three finalists out of a pool of 22 applicants, for the job of of Portsmouth Virginia police chief.
City of DeLand spokesman Chris Graham told the Daytona Beach News-Journal that the DeLand police chief “traveled to New Jersey to vet Williams before he was hired.”
However, according to several sources, Williams was disliked by Jersey City’s rank and file officers. He was known, they said, to harass officers during their recoveries from injuries and illnesses. They said, however, that the language he was accused of using in Florida did not sound like the person they knew.