Ansonia Police Chief Wayne Williams.
ANSONIA – Last week the Ansonia Police Commission officially chose longtime city police officer Wayne Williams to lead the department.
Williams, 53, interim chief since last August after Chief Andrew Cota retired, signed a contract with the city on Wednesday (Feb. 23), according to a social media post from the City of Ansonia.
Williams is being paid $143,000. He brings 32 years of Ansonia law enforcement experience to the job.
The Valley Indy interviewed Chief Williams, a father of two sons in their early twenties, on the phone Feb. 17, immediately after the police commission voted to name him chief.
The following Q&A is from that conversation. It is not a transcription, it has been edited for length.
Valley Indy: Where are you from originally, chief?
Ansonia Police Chief Wayne Williams: “I’m from California actually, but I grew up in Middletown and I moved down here when I was hired in 1990.”
Valley Indy: Why did you want to become a police officer?
Chief Williams: “It’s all I’ve ever known. I started off at the age of 14 joining the police explorers in Middletown. At the age of 18 I graduated to the auxiliary police department. They were basically part-time officers. I was there learning the job. You could not be a police officer until you were 21. When I turned 21 I started testing for departments, and I was hired in Ansonia a month after I turned 21.”
Valley Indy: What was being a police officer like when you first started?
Chief Williams: “When I got on the job the first thing you did was to be sent to a walking beat. When I got on, it was a violent period in the country and in our state. The crack epidemic was in full force. The violence was pretty much out of control in the late 80s and early 90s. It has changed: a lot for the better, and policing has evolved.”
Valley Indy: What’s different now?
Chief Williams: “The training we get is so much more than it used to be. When I got on it was two weeks of training on the job and then you were out on your own. Now it’s almost a year of training before you are released on your own. It’s changed everywhere, not just Ansonia. Policing now is a different job. We have more training about how to deal with people who have mental health issues. We have more training about how to deal with people who have lots of problems, instead of just trying to arrest our way out of a problem.”
The Q&A continues after this video from HNN Productions on the opening of the new Ansonia Police Department from a few months back.
Valley Indy: I’ve been a reporter for more than 20 years, but only at the local level. I’ve never heard so many police officers complain about the job. It sounds like the police are burned out. Do you feel that within your own department or am I blowing smoke?
Chief Williams: “No, you’re hitting the nail on the head. The protests we’ve seen nationally against law enforcement, and the attacks we’ve seen on law enforcement in the country – we have to put it in perspective for our officers.
This city and its citizens have supported this agency and its officers. We didn’t have an ‘anti police rally.’ We didn’t have some of the problems some of the major cities had.
I think it’s because we didn’t wait for there to be a problem before we started talking to people in this community. We have a good relationship with this community. Chief (Kevin) Hale had it. Chief Cota had it. I hope to continue it. I have an open door policy and I want to make sure the community is heard. Keeping lines of communication is the key.”
Why don’t I retire? I’m here because I love this city and I love this department.”
-- Chief Williams
Valley Indy: So then what’s your take on the state’s police accountability act?
Chief Williams: “I think the state overreached. I think some of the laws passed were solutions looking for a problem that did not necessarily exist in every community. It lowered the morale of police officers, and to do that in a pandemic, when they’re out on the front lines every day, it’s been a difficult period.”
Valley Indy: You could have retired a while ago. A lot of officers are retiring.
Chief Williams: “I could have retired seven years ago.”
Valley Indy: Why did you want to become chief? I would say forget it and call it a day. Why would you want to do this?
Chief Williams: “Unfortunately that is happening across the state. I’ve had more people retire recently than I’ve ever seen before. And finding new candidates is not easy. If you put out an anti-police sentiment, and you believe that’s what police work is, who would want to do this job? We’re seeing that in recruiting. We’re having trouble recruiting new officers, and we are not a bad department. It’s like you said, people are asking ‘why would I want to do this?’ But, you know what? It is a great profession. You get to help people everyday. Who doesn’t want to do that? I can’t think of a greater job or a greater place to do it. Why don’t I retire? I’m here because I love this city and I love this department.”
