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Prescott police officer to resign after re-enacting George Floyd’s killing in Minnesota classroom
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Prescott police officer to resign after re-enacting George Floyd’s killing in Minnesota classroom

The Wisconsin police officer who was banned from substitute teaching in Minnesota after reenacting the police killing of George Floyd in class is no longer with the department.

The Prescott City Council unanimously approved a separation agreement with Steven D. Williams earlier this week. The agreement shows that Friday will be Williams’ last day before he resigns “in lieu of termination.”

Last month, South Washington School District said it banned Williams after he “repeatedly made racist comments,” “told sexist jokes” and “stated that police brutality was not real” while he was a teacher at Woodbury High School, according to a letter from school officials school.

RELATED: Substitute teacher who allegedly re-enacted George Floyd’s killing at Woodbury HS no longer employed

Teachers on Call, a private company that employs substitutes for Minnesota school districts, fired Williams after the incident. The company said it had passed all background screens, adding that it had a “zero tolerance policy for any form of violent, aggressive or harmful behavior.”

Williams, who did not respond to multiple voicemails from 5 INVESTIGATIONS seeking comment, joined the Prescott Police Department in July 2022 after more than eight years in law enforcement-related positions in Montana.

He was on administrative leave from the department since October 16.

Personnel records show Williams received a documented verbal warning after he violated Prescott Police Department policy by missing a mandatory team meeting in May. The police chief noted in a letter that Williams said he “forgot to show up” and that it was not the first time he had missed a meeting.

Records also show the officer damaged his car twice while on duty: On Dec. 24, 2022, Williams backed into a tree in a shared parking lot, then, on Aug. 5, 2023, ripped out the antenna radio from the roof of his car. while backing into a garage door.

A racially motivated complaint against Williams was deemed “unfounded” and “baseless” by the police chief earlier this year, according to a letter in his personnel file. Body-worn camera footage of the incident shows the person who complained kept yelling at Williams, but he never responded and got back into his patrol car.

In his application, Williams said his “life experiences” gave him “the ability to empathize with others and also to be a source of information and guidance when citizens face unexpected problems.”