Williams’ colorful career has landed him in some pretty unusual box-office seats. Back in 1994, he was sitting in The Boss’s office. Steinbrenner had just offered him a position as Director of Player Operations for the New York Yankees. Williams hesitated because of prior commitments. Steinbrenner looked him directly in the eyes and said, “Son, let me tell you one ‘Got Damn’ thing! There ain’t one thing more important in this world than working for the New York ‘Got Damn’ Yankees! I want you to finish up your commitment with the ‘Bo Dunk’ Sheriff's Department in the next three months, but on Monday, you are on the New York Yankee payroll. Anything you want to say?”
Immediately, Williams sealed the Steinbrenner deal with a tight handshake. “This was a one-year contract – a shake-of-the-hand contract,” he laughs. The rest is history. The Williams and Steinbrenner alliance worked out well. Williams served four years as Yankee Director of Player Operations. While with the Yankee organization, he said, he created an important Adverse Incident Prevention Program for major league baseball players.
Before working for The Boss, however, Williams spent many years in law enforcement. He’s a former Municipal Police Chief and a retired U.S. Department of Justice Senior Executive. There, he served as Chief of Organized Crime Task Forces worldwide. Part of his tenure at the USDOJ was also spent as Chief of International Police Training in addition to Law Enforcement and Training administration.
He also worked as an advisor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), at Langley, helping to formulate and implement drug policies. “As a Senior Drug Advisor to the CIA,” Williams said, “we initiated and developed systems for acquiring drug production and importing intelligence through satellite systems; we also developed human resources worldwide,” he added. “Drug kingpins were identified via satellite, and police operations were effected, resulting in arrests, extractions and eliminations of international drug traffickers.”
Another of Williams’ hats has been to serve as an expert witness in countless criminal and civil cases. With a doctorate in criminal justice (Pacific Western University), he’s been admitted into federal courts as a police expert and has met state and federal court standards of the Daubert Challenges. Of the 48 cases in which Mr. Williams has offered opinions in the past four years, 30 received high profile attention. These included twelve Police Misconducts; nine Wrongful Deaths; four Excessive Uses of Force; two False Arrests; one Wrongful Imprisonment (14 years); one Wrongful Shooting, and one Wrongful Arrest.
Working closely with the state courts, Williams’ expert opinion in Wrongful Death cases has been a feature in State Appellate Court findings. In short, he is a specialist in Police Policy, Practices and Procedures, and in the area of Security Policy.
Dr. Williams recalls a landmark case in which he was involved. A young woman had been hacked to death with a machete after being abducted by two men bent on robbing her. A witness called the police, but the dispatcher deemed the incident a “domestic dispute” and didn’t broadcast the complaint over the police radio.
“The two murderers were subsequently caught and arrested,” Williams said. ”In the Civil Suit, the Superior Court Judge dismissed the charge of Wrongful Death against the [police dispatcher] and the Camden Police Department and the City of Camden.” The judge, Williams explains, cited Police Qualified Immunity as being applicable in this case. The defense attorney petitioned the State’s Appellate Court, which subsequently ruled that the trial judge was mistaken and re-instituted the case for trial. “Prior to trial,” explained Williams, “the City of Camden and the Eberle family settled the case in excess of one million dollars,” Williams continued. “The killers pled guilty and are serving lengthy prison terms.”
His expert opinions have been referenced and cited numerous times in State Appellate Court findings and in decisions on Police Qualified Immunity.
Today, His plate is still full. His consulting company is primarily engaged in providing professional support services and expert testimony to legal professionals and private citizens and to government agencies at all levels. He currently serves as a Training Consultant to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. His firm is also currently engaged in providing Litigation Support services to noted national law firms and attorneys, specializing in both plaintiff and defense matters of criminal and civil litigation. Specific services include: Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting in the Areas of Police Policies, Practices and Procedures; Pharmaceutical Company Consultant for Diversion Control; Special Operations Police Training; Drug Law Enforcement Training; and in Special Investigations and Executive Protection Services and Security Training.
J.A. Williams, L.L.C. also has its own counterpart, J.A. Williams Associates, a pro-bono program which offers services to attorneys who are working on pro-bono cases. As if that’s not enough, Williams is an Associate Member of the American Bar Association, currently serving on the ABA Criminal Justice Section Committee; he’s a Certified Forensic Consultant and a member of the American College of Forensic Examiners, currently serving as a Certification Course Presenter at the ACFE National Conference held annually. Occasionally, he appears on television as an analyst for CN8, a Philadelphia television network. He’s also a radio commentator and an Adjunct Professor for Criminal Justice studies at Rowan University.
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