Woodbury substitute teacher who reenacted Floyd death loses job as police officer

A substitute teacher who was banned from teaching in Washington County after reportedly using a student to reenact the police killing of George Floyd has lost his job as a police officer in western Wisconsin.

Steven Williams, an officer with the Prescott Police Department, had been on administrative leave since last month when the allegations about his conduct at Woodbury High School came to light last month.

In a separation agreement between Williams, police union and the city set to go into effect Friday, Nov. 15, Williams will resign from the department rather than face termination. He’ll get a payout of his vacation time and can keep his health insurance through the end of the month.

Williams’ reenactment of Floyd’s 2020 murder by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was just one of several “inappropriate and racially harmful” actions he took in the classroom on Oct. 14, according to officials with South Washington County Schools.

He reportedly mimicked pointing a gun at a student, told sexist jokes, spoke in detail about bodies he had seen, shared explicit details about two sexual assault cases he had investigated and said “police brutality isn’t real,” according to the district.

Students had shared audio and video recordings of Williams with school administrators, who then removed Williams from the classroom and escorted him off the premises, Superintendent Julie Nielsen said.

Williams, who had served for two years with the Prescott Police Department, had subbed for teachers in South Washington County seven times since he started the job in March 2024, according to the district.

Williams was hired by Teachers On Call, a third-party vendor that provides the district’s substitute teachers.