An off-duty Wisconsin police officer working as a substitute teacher is under investigation after he allegedly re-enacted the murder of George Floyd, made “racially harmful comments,” and twisted a student’s arm behind the child’s back during classes at a Woodbury, Minnesota, high school.
The incident occurred Monday during four English classes at Woodbury High School, school and district officials said in a letter to the school community. The substitute teacher, Steve Williams, was removed from the classroom and barred from “stepping foot on any district property.” He could not be reached Thursday at a phone number listed for him.
Williams, a patrol officer with the Prescott Police Department in Wisconsin, was placed on administrative leave by the agency, a city news release states.
School officials said Williams allegedly “put a student on the ground in front of the class as part of a reenactment of the police actions that resulted in the murder of George Floyd,” a Black man who died in 2020 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for 9½ minutes as Floyd pleaded for help and said he could not breathe.
His death sparked months of racial justice protests in cities around the world. The former officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murder.
School officials said the re-enactment was “reprehensible.”
“I am embarrassed, and I am sorry this happened to our students,” the letter states. “We will take as much time as students need to listen and create open space for courageous conversations that lead to healing, action and education. The reported actions are not, and will not, be tolerated at Woodbury High School or in South Washington County Schools.”
The City of Prescott and the Prescott Police Department said the allegations against Williams are “very disturbing” and they do not condone his actions.
The staffing agency that placed him at the high school said he no longer worked for them.
Williams is also accused of repeatedly making “racially harmful comments,” telling sexist jokes, describing in disturbing detail dead bodies he had seen, sharing explicit information about two sexual assault cases he worked on, sharing the names of people he arrested, and speaking at length about his gun collection, according to the letter.
Students also reported that Williams allegedly “twisted a student’s arm behind the student’s back and showed pressure points on the chin and face,” “fake punched” a student while discussing a bar fight, and “mimicked holding up a gun and pointing it at students,” the letter states.
The letter goes on to include inappropriate remarks Williams allegedly made including a statement that “cops would be the best criminals” and saying that “police brutality isn’t real.”
Williams allegedly said he thought the high schoolers wanted to hear about his life as a police officer, according to school and district officials.
The troubling allegations detailed in the letter are only a brief summary of what Williams said, the officials stated. A full report was submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education and the state Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board. School officials are also working with the police department in Woodbury to investigate the incident.
Woodbury Public Safety’s director and chief, Jason Posel, said he was working closely with the school district.
“We are disturbed by the preliminary information of what occurred,” Posel said in a statement. “We will investigate this incident to the fullest extent, while showing compassion to the students impacted.”
Teachers on Call, the staffing agency that hired Williams, said he passed comprehensive background checks before he was placed at the school.
“The actions of this individual were unacceptable, and the substitute teacher is no longer an employee of Teachers on Call,” spokesperson Danielle Nixon said in a statement. “We recognize the significant public trust placed in us to ensure our substitute educators maintain a safe learning environment. We have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of violent, aggressive, or harmful behavior.”
Woodbury is located about 20 miles southeast of Minneapolis. South Washington County Schools serves about 18,700 students, with 37% identifying as a race other than white, according to the district website.