WILMINGTON — Wilmington Police Chief Donny Williams is retiring after 35 years on the force and five years leading it.
READ MORE: Community members, NAACP defend police chief, claim WPD investigation is racially motivated
ALSO:City of Wilmington paid $75K for third-party investigation of police department management
In a letter to city council dated Jan. 10, Williams said he planned to retire no later than June 30, 2025.
“Serving this community and leading the employees of the Wilmington Police Department (WPD) has been the greatest honor of my career,” Williams wrote in the release.
According to Williams, he never planned to stay on as chief past 2025, noting his goal was to guide the department through an “era marked by significant challenges, instability, and change.”
However, the announcement comes after a third-party investigation into allegations of a toxic work environment by a former officer. City Manager Tony Caudle, who will also retire this spring, found former officer Mike Fanta’s assertions “substantiated” with “appropriate steps being taken,” according to reporting from WECT. Caudle’s office signed off on third-party investigative services from U.S. ISS Agency to review conditions at the WPD for $75,000.
Fanta was not the only former employee to voice concern, though Williams defended his leadership in an interview with local news outlets in November — notably, Port City Daily and WHQR were not invited, though the latter managed to learn of the event and attend last-minute.
The chief refuted the allegations against him, mainly that he was being judged unfairly for the retention numbers under his tenure and that he kept fired officers’ badges in a bowl on his desk. He does keep the badges of three officers fired in 2020 for making racist and threatening remarks in a clear box on his bookshelf.
The chief told the attending outlets racism was alive and well in the ranks of the WPD. Amid the controversy over his leadership, the New Hanover County NAACP also came to the chief’s defense amide claiming the accusations against him were racially motivated.
Despite these recent blemishes to his legacy, Williams said the department has made measurable success in reducing violent crime and strengthening community trust during his five years.
Wilmington is now a safer city, with violent crime at lower levels, including a four-year downward trend in homicides,” Williams wrote.
Highlights of his leadership include WPD becoming one of the first law enforcement agencies in the state to receive accreditation through the North Carolina Department of Justice in 2023. The WPD implemented programs like Fair and Impartial Policing (unconscious bias training) and Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE).
The WPD also launched community engagement through initiatives like the Community Engagement Unit, Cop Camp, the Police Activities League (PAL), Teen Night, Cars and Coffee, Women’s Personal Self-Defense Program, and the creation of a police museum.
One of his proudest accomplishments, Williams said, was leading the design and construction of the Haynes Lacewell Police and Fire Training Facility law enforcement areas, which offers state-of-the-art resources for officers and training there includes advanced use-of-force simulations.
“Under Donny’s leadership, violent crime in Wilmington has neared a multi-year low and we’ve made tremendous strides in strengthening the relationship between our police and the community,” Mayor Bill Saffo wrote in a statement. “His commitment to innovative approaches has produced a highly trained and well-equipped police force, which has delivered on City Council’s priorities for public safety. I am grateful for Donny’s dedication to the law enforcement profession and his core belief that everyone who calls Wilmington home deserves to live in a safe community with a trusted and effective police force that treats all persons with fairness and respect.”
Born and raised in Wilmington, Williams began working part-time at the police department while a student at Laney High School through a summer program for at-risk youth. Shortly after graduating from high school, he was hired as a cadet and commissioned as a sworn officer on his 21st birthday. He steadily rose through the ranks and was hired by city council as chief of police in 2020.
“Being appointed Chief of Police remains one of my greatest honors, but at my core, I have always been a Wilmington police officer,” said Williams.
City council will begin the search for its next chief of police.
“We will work hard to recruit someone who brings innovative approaches to combatting violent crime, maintains high standards of professionalism, and builds strong bonds of trust in our police force across the entire community,” Saffo wrote.
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