Frank Williams, at left, with the Chief of DeLand Police Jason Umberger
After a seven-month internal affairs investigation, DeLand Police Capt. Francisco “Frank” Williams has been fired from the DeLand Police Department for homophobic and sexist comments.
As the former head of the Bureau of Professional Standards, Williams, who joined the DeLand Police Department in 2021, held one of the top spots there. He was a member of the command staff and oversaw DeLand Police’s staff hiring and training, and the records division.
An outside company, Bill Cameron & Associates Consulting, Inc., was hired to conduct the investigation due to “…Capt. Williams being a command officer, who had a close relationship with Police Chief Umberger,” according to the executive summary of the internal affairs report, provided to the press Sept. 19.
According to the report, Williams was heard by several witnesses in three different instances referring to women, including a female officer, as a “c***.” Williams was also found to have made sexually explicit comments about women, to have used the term “f*****” multiple times, and referred to the DeLand Police Department as a whole as “dumb f*** rednecks.”
Another accusation, that Williams had referred to Black people as “darkies,” was determined to be not sustained because there was only one witness, and Williams strenuously denied it.
Williams was placed on administrative leave with pay in early February after a DeLand Police sergeant made a formal complaint through the sergeant’s union. Williams earned a yearly salary of $109,200.
The City of DeLand has not yet responded to queries of the total pay for Williams during his administrative leave.
Williams, a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, previously served with the Jersey City Police Department for 26 years, according to his biography on DeLand Police’s website.
“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,” an official from the City of Deland wrote in an email to the media.
View the report below:
[pdf id=’69226′]
Goodbye to bad rubbish from a female retired officer
Wow! Sad. Disgusting. I wonder if he was let go from his previous job for similar behavior.
Well Done Eli!
Glad to see it only took 7 months to fire a BAD COP that made well over $100,000 a year. Things keep getting better and better here in Delightful DeLand. These are the same COPS that keep us safe at the DeLand High Football games where you must go through a metal detector to enter.
This should have made it past local news! Just a thought, has the beacon considered podcast style reporting? You all are the bomb btw!