Prescott Valley Town Council honors Officer Mike Williams on retirement

The Prescott Valley Town Council honored Officer Mike Williams Aug. 8 on his retirement after 20 years of service to the Prescott Valley Police Department.

Williams started his law enforcement career in August of 1999, and was a proud graduate of the Northern Arizona Regional Training Academy Class No. 7.

Williams' positions and assignments over his 20-year career include Field Training Officer, Master Police Officer, Corporal, CIS Detective, Family Violence Unit Manager-Coordinator, and Sergeant.

Early on in his career, Officer Williams recognized and saw the need for a highly trained & dedicated specialized unit, to handle the high frequency, dangerous and extremely volatile nature of domestic violence incidents in our community.

In 2008, as a result of his work on a Federally-funded Violence Against Women’s Grant, the Prescott Valley PD was awarded more than $100,000 through a STOP Violence Against Women Grant, which enabled the department to start the first ever fully dedicated Family Violence Unit in Northern Arizona. Williams was assigned to manage and coordinate this unit for the next several years until he was promoted.

In 2015, as a result of six years of dedicated work in domestic violence cases, to include bringing heightened awareness and education on the seriousness of domestic violence and how it affects everyone in our community, Prescott Valley PD’s Family Violence Unit was awarded the statewide 2015 Leadership Award for its service to domestic violence victims in the community.

"Achieving this prestigious award has been our unit's highest honor and recognition to date," Officer Williams said.

Williams also enjoyed his 10-year span as the Domestic Violence Instructor at the NARTA Police Academy. Williams also collaborated with both the Yavapai County Coordinated Community Response Team and the Yavapai County Domestic Violence Danger and Lethality Case Review Board, which was mandated by the Arizona State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Officer Williams dedicated his law enforcement career to his family - his mother Carla and father Bill, brother Tony, his children Logan, Kurtis, Margaret and Carly, niece Katey, and nephews Nick and Sean.

Without them he said, his career would not have been possible. He also expressed his gratitude to the Town of Prescott Valley and its residents, and his close friend, former Prescott Valley Police Sgt. Joe Capelli, with whom Williams worked for many years at NARTA.

Information provided by the Prescott Valley Police Department.