PRINTER'S NO. 3315
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
876
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY THOMAS, MAY 10, 2016
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
MAY 10, 2016
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the life and expressing condolences upon the passing of
Willie L. Williams.
WHEREAS, Willie L. Williams was born in Philadelphia on
October 1, 1943, and was the oldest of seven children; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Williams graduated from Overbrook High School
and went on to receive his associate's degree from the
Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science; and
WHEREAS, In 1964, Mr. Williams became a Fairmount Park guard
and after the park police merged with the city police, he rose
quickly in the ranks, becoming the first African American to
head the Philadelphia Police Department as Police Commissioner
in 1988; and
WHEREAS, During his tenure in Philadelphia, Mr. Williams
established small police stations in neighborhoods, doubled the
number of African-American officers with the rank of captain or
inspector and helped to fortify police-community relations; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Williams served as president of the National
Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives in 1991 and
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1992; and
WHEREAS, In 1992, Mr. Williams was recruited as the first
African-American chief of Los Angeles' 8,000-officer police
department; and
WHEREAS, When Mr. Williams took the position, the Los Angeles
Police Department (LAPD) and the community were experiencing
difficulties as a result of citywide riots; and
WHEREAS, During this tumultuous time, Mr. Williams increased
the size of the department and implemented some of the community
policing initiatives he had implemented in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, In 1997, Mr. Williams left the LAPD after clashing
with city officials and later became a Federal security director
at the nation's busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Williams retired outside of Atlanta with his
wife, Evelina, of 49 years; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Williams passed away on April 27, 2016, and is
survived by his wife, his daughter Lisa, his sons Willie and
Eric, two brothers, two sisters, his mother and nieces, nephews
and grandchildren; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the life
and express condolences upon the passing of Willie L. Williams.
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