Detective Keith L Williams Park

Detective Keith L. Williams (1954 - 1989) Williams was killed on November 13, 1989, while transporting a prisoner from court to back to Riker’s Island.

Williams was born and raised in Jamaica, Queens. He attended Jamaica High School, where he played varsity basketball for four years, and Long Island University in Brooklyn. He began his career in the Department of Corrections where he worked until his appointment to the Police Academy in 1981, serving in both Bushwick and South Brooklyn before becoming a detective for the Queens District Attorney’s Squad in 1987. Williams was a dedicated officer and citizen who coached teen-agers in a neighborhood basketball league and started the Keith Roundball Classics, a basketball tournament in Liberty Park. He also sponsored an after-school program at P.S. 116. He received two Excellent Police Duty citations and was honored posthumously with the Medal of Honor in 1990. 

Sources:

Lorch, Donatella, “Officers and Teen-Agers Mourn Death of Detective,” New York Times, November 19, 1989, https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/19/nyregion/officers-and-teen-agers-mourn-death-of-detective.html

Gannon, Michael, “City plans fitting tribute to NYPD hero,” Queens Chronicle, April 1, 2021, https://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/city-plans-fitting-tribute-to-nypd-hero/article_02f40dce-01cb-583f-884e-0bcee7836571.html

“Detective Keith L Williams Park,” New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, accessed April 3, 2023, https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/detective-keith-l-williams-park-liberty-park/history