WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Two weeks after former Wilmington Police officers alleged a “toxic” environment within the department in a WECT investigative report, Chief Donny Williams addressed the accusations for the first time, saying the complaint that triggered a recently-completed third-party investigation was “absolutely” racially motivated.
The complaint, filed by retired WPD captain Mike Fanta earlier this year, alleged Williams created a hostile work environment in the department by threatening, insulting and excluding members. Fanta received a letter from City Manager Tony Caudle last month saying his complaints had been “substantiated.” The specific findings of that investigation, completed by outside firm U.S. ISS, haven’t been released publicly.
Inside his office Wednesday afternoon, Williams told media members he hadn’t seen the report, and doesn’t plan on it so he doesn’t face accusations of retaliation. He had no comment on the complaints being substantiated.
“I purposely have not read it,” he said. “I just want to move forward and just get to what we do best – and that’s make our community safe.”
Caudle’s letter said “appropriate steps” are being taken to address the complaints, but didn’t offer specifics. Williams said he has no plans to step down, and declined to share detailed specifics of his recent conversations with the city manager. Caudle has declined to answer questions about the investigation or department leadership.
Fanta has said his complaint had nothing to do with race, and said he believes Williams has benefited from being Wilmington’s first Black police chief. WPD officials cited that comment Wednesday as an example of why the complaint was racially motivated.
Williams also pushed back on Fanta’s allegation that his opinions as a captain were not valued while working under the chief. Williams said that wasn’t the full story, explaining that he told Fanta that his opinion doesn’t matter after a decision has been made.
He also addressed Fanta’s allegation in his written complaint to city human resources that Williams keeps a bowl full of badges of terminated officers in his office. Williams pointed out the bowl on Wednesday, saying it only has the three badges of the officers who made racist and inflammatory comments in 2020, and asking why anyone would complain about that.
Deputy Chief Kelvin Hargrove also discussed interactions with Fanta, saying the former captain had told him the promotional process for deputy chief had been “rigged” and was racist. Fanta also said “janitors” shouldn’t be part of the process, Hargrove, who disagreed, said. After Hargrove’s promotion, he said Fanta no longer spoke to him.
Williams opened Wednesday’s meeting by addressing retention numbers within WPD, saying the number of departures and resignations from July 2015-October 2019 were in line with the numbers since he was appointed chief in late-June 2020. A recent records request revealed that nearly 80% of the 208 departures from the department between July 2020-October 2024 were resignations.
Then, Williams brought reporters into an adjacent conference room, where he played audio recordings from 2017, when he was a lieutenant.
In the recordings, three former members of WPD – one white male and two white females – made racially charged comments about Williams and other Black department employees. Williams was called a “bully”, “mutt”, the last Black Panther “left” in WPD, and was attacked for listening to rap music with headphones and wearing Timberlands and clothes with tags still on.
The recordings are an example of the “systemic” racism he has battled as a senior member of the agency, Williams said.
“From day one it was tough. From the day I had to fire those three people, it’s been tough. It has been a battle, it has been a struggle at times. If I say go left, there’s people that wanna go right,” Williams said.
Afterwards, Williams got emotional, saying the recordings encapsulated the struggles he’s faced as he’s worked his way up within the department. He said he’s dealt with more and more racism since becoming chief, though noted the cases are isolated and don’t reflect the views of all the members of the department.
“Do we have pockets of racism? Yes, absolutely. Any large organization is going to have people with different views,” Williams said. “I said this back in 2020 and I’m going to say it again: Judge our officers by the color of their hearts, not the color of their skin.”
Williams’ comments came a day after community members came out to support the police chief during a city council meeting. The New Hanover County NAACP president told WECT on Tuesday night they hope “unwarranted claims” against the integrity of Williams’ leadership will soon end.
Williams said he had made mistakes during his time as chief, and when asked if he planned to make any changes to his leadership style following the investigation, said he wanted to firm up communication within the department.
The chief also said Wednesday he appreciated the community’s recent support, and his current focus is on pushing forward for the people of Wilmington, with no intentions of stepping down from his position.
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