Williams' Federal Lawsuit

The saga of local Monroe resident Timothy Williams' unfortunate encounter with several officers of the Monroe Police Dept., took a turn to where MPD officials may soon say more than what we have heard from them. The plight of Williams' encounter with MPD officers has been well documented and now that MPD appears to be slow in speaking to the public, perhaps the federal government can do what local civilian government wont do. Now that a federal lawsuit against MPD is a matter of public record, they are those in the public still waiting to hear from Monroe's two top officials, Mayor Friday Ellis and Ellis' appointed police chief, Victor "Vic" Zordan. Zordan has gone on record saying that he "will not tolerate" police brutality or misconduct. Ellis said in his mayoral inauguration speech that with Zordan as the new chief, MPD was going to be "one of the best" departments in the nation. But the focus of Williams' federal lawsuit centered on what happened to him in April of 2020, when Williams encountered MPD officers, including Officer Jared DeSadier, who is charged with using excessive force on Williams, causing traumatic injuries that required medical treatment.

According to media reports, Williams knew that he had to get his story of what happened that horrific April night out in the public. When he went to MPD to register a complaint, he was allegedly dismissed by officers at MPD, even though a hospital trip and troubling facial injuries appeared not to be enough to get MPD to give Williams a courtesy look into his complaint. But Williams is not alone, as The Dispatch has published numerous articles from city residents who have said that they suffered greatly at the hands from MPD officers and nothing was done to remedy their cries to those at the top of city government. But, perhaps the Williams' case will bring to light the alleged tactics used by some, not all officers, who don't even get a slap on the wrist for their conduct. There are those citizens who can outright name certain police officers because of a "reputation" that those officers "have earned" from the way that they interact with the public. Williams' lawsuit may put not only MPD in a spotlight in which it doesn't want, but other law enforcement agencies that may be facing similar legal action. Though the incident involving Williams happened in the final months of the former mayor's administration, the responsibility of "turning the corner" from an alleged coverup by the former interim police chief over the Williams' case, is squarely on the shoulders of Mayor Ellis and Chief Zordan. The community has wanted transparency since the Williams' incident became public, but it seemed that the "can was kicked" further down the road, that is until Williams retained the services of highly talented legal law firm, one that enabled former interim police chief Reggie Brown to take the police chief exam after he was allegedly told that he couldn't. The public has heard that a coverup was in place to "protect" former mayor Jamie Mayo, as he faced Friday Ellis in the mayor's race. There is no concrete evidence to support that assertion. But with a new administration in Washington and a renewed push from the U.S. Justice Department, a remedy that was used by countless victims of color in seeking justice, is now more of a reality than a "don't call us, we'll call you attitude" , that seemed to have been prevalent in the previous administration.

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