Woodbury substitute teacher who reenacts Floyd’s death loses job as police officer – Twin Cities

A substitute teacher who was reportedly banned from teaching in Washington County using a student to reenact the police killing of George Floyd has lost his job as a police officer in western Wisconsin.

Steven Williams, an officer with the Prescott Police Department, had been on administrative leave since last month when the allegations about his conduct at Woodbury High School came to light last month.

In a separation agreement between Williams, the police union and the city effective Friday, Nov. 15, Williams will resign from the department rather than face layoffs. He will receive a payout for his vacation time and can keep his health insurance until the end of the month.

Williams’ reenactment of Floyd’s 2020 killing by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was just one of several “inappropriate and racially harmful” actions he took in the classroom on Oct. 14, according to South Washington County Schools officials.

He reportedly pretended to point a gun at a student, told sexist jokes, spoke in detail about the bodies he had seen, shared graphic details about two sexual assault cases he had investigated and said that “police brutality is not real,” the district said.

Students had shared audio and video recordings of Williams with school administrators, who then removed Williams from the classroom and escorted him off the premises, said Superintendent Julie Nielsen.

Williams, who served two years on the Prescott Police Department, had applied to teach in South Washington County seven times since he started the job in March 2024, according to the district.

Williams was hired by Teachers On Call, a third-party vendor that provides the district’s substitute teachers.