Milwaukee man resigns from police, receives probation in sentencing for misdemeanors

A Milwaukee police officer resigned as part of a guilty plea and received probation in his sentencing for three misdemeanors on Thursday.

Frank Williams resigned from the Milwaukee Police Department prior to his sentencing for three misdemeanors of disorderly conduct. The 30-year-old Milwaukee man was previously charged with two felonies related to alleged child abuse, before pleading guilty earlier this year.

Williams also received 18 months of probation and 50 hours of community service as part of his sentence, among other stipulations. Thursday's sentencing stemmed from felony charges against Williams for alleged child abuse.

He pleaded guilty to lesser charges of three misdemeanors of disorderly conduct on July 12.

"You get into situations with children that are just incredibly frustrating and make you want to tear your hair out," said Milwaukee County Judge Anderson Gansner. "It's really hard, but at the same time we have to as a community be better."

In January, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office charged Williams with two felonies for physical abuse of a child and another count of strangulation and suffocation. In a criminal complaint detailing the charges, Williams was accused of using a thick black belt to strike a 7-year-old child who did not take a nap when told to do so.

He later grabbed her by the neck and “squished” it to the point where the child could not breathe, according to the criminal complaint. The child also told authorities it was not the first time Williams had choked her.

The Journal Sentinel is not identifying the child's relation to Williams to help protect their identity.

At the sentencing, Williams said he had already begun taking parenting classes and they had taught him what he did was wrong. His attorney Michael Steinle said he had enrolled in anger management classes as well but had not started them yet.

At Thursday's sentencing, it was noted that Williams has denied the allegation of choking the child but admitted wrongdoing to other actions.

"I learned that physical discipline is truly not the answer," William said.

Williams declined comment on his sentencing through his attorney Steinle.

Williams has a long history of misconduct allegations in his time as a Milwaukee police officer and as an officer-in-training. The Journal Sentinel reported on more than 300 pages of internal affairs and personnel records about Williams' misconduct.

That report found allegations of excessive force, keeping a drug house, turning off his body camera and making sexual or other inappropriate comments towards women while working on the job.

The reports also detailed local businesses requested he not be assigned to work at them as uniformed extra-duty security, due to his usage of excessive force in previous incidents.

Policing expert David Thomas previously told the Journal Sentinel Thomas created liability issues for the department. He criticized the department for not firing him earlier in his career.

Williams' gross salary was $54,003 in 2019, $98,650 in 2020, $86,817 in 2021 and $109,930 in 2022, according to the Journal Sentinel's City of Milwaukee Employee Salaries database.

Defense attorney Steinle said Williams was working on receiving his real estate license for his future work, pending how the sentencing affected that effort.

David Clarey is a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Frank Williams resigns from MPD, receives probation in court case