British cop with Jamaican roots triumphs over racism, makes Queen’s honours list

Three decades of dedicated and distinguished service to the police force in the United Kingdom have earned Jamaican Clifton John Williams the Queen’s Police Medal on Her Majesty’s Birthday Honours List 2022.

“It’s still sinking in,” the retired detective chief inspector of the Merseyside Police told The Gleaner in an interview last Friday morning.

In 1969, Williams was born in London to Jamaican parents, Lesma and Shirley, who had answered the call to help rebuild the motherland after World War II.

The youngest of five children, he said the family relocated to Old Folly in St Ann, Jamaica, in 1972.

He recalled that they had a strict upbringing and were of humble means as his father worked as a carpenter and his mother, a housewife.

Williams attended Holmwood Technical, Ocho Rios Secondary, Brown’s Town Community College, and then the College of Arts, Science and Technology (now the University of Technology, Jamaica), where he pursued a degree in engineering.

“I’ve always wanted to be a police officer. My dad was worried about what it’s like in Jamaica – the mortality and the fact that the police seemed to be targeted more. When I came back to London in 1988, I came back initially to do electrical engineering, but my heart was still going towards the police force,” he said.

The unsolved murder of his uncle in Jamaica and his disdain for wrongdoing also made the police a natural choice.

He joined Merseyside Police in 1991 and was the only black officer in a group of 35.

Early on, he faced racism on the streets as well as from his colleagues.

At that time, English footballer and media personality Ian Wright, news presenter Trevor McDonald, and singer Heather Small were black beacons on TV.

“I used to tape the news and their songs and watch it to remind me that there are some black people who broke through the glass ceiling, and that was a reminder not to give up,” he said.

Williams is jolted by memories of overt racism in his early years on patrol.

“I turned up arresting people, and the first thing they saw was the colour of my skin, and they called me names,” he recounted.

Soon after, he transferred to the drug squad and then the Criminal Investigations Department before moving to the International Crime Team.

In 2007, when Williams had given 15 years of service to the force, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant.

“Sadly again, I encountered some racism, both internally and externally, and that was probably my lowest point. I thought about resigning,” he recalled.

After another promotion in the top three percentile, he spent time working as an acting patrol inspector before taking on the role of neighbourhood inspector for Prescot, Whiston, Cronton, and Knowsley villages.

He again moved up the ranks and became the first black detective chief inspector of the Merseyside Police in January 2012 but suffered a massive blow when his father passed away three months later.

“My dad was my hero. When I was still a sergeant, my mom and dad visited me here, and I took my dad to the police station and brought him into my office. I remembered saying to him, ‘Go and sit in the big chair.’ I will always cherish that moment – just the pride on his face,” Williams detailed.

Working full time with two young daughters, who are now 21 and 24, was not always easy, but his wife’s parents assisted with childcare and his kids also attended daycare.

He told The Gleaner that one of his regrets is that he did not spend as much time as he could with his children, having worked 10-, 15- and 25-hour shifts.

“It’s humbling. The award means everything, and by that I mean it is recognition of what us Jamaicans have contributed to British life. It’s a recognition that I feel like I accept on behalf of the countless Jamaicans and West Indians who fought in both the first and second World Wars but were never, ever acknowledged because of their colour,” Williams remarked.

The retired detective has dedicated the accolade to his late father and also his mother, who died a few days before his retirement.

Williams told The Gleaner that he knew he was a recipient of the award from February but kept it secret, as instructed by the Home Office.

“Between then and now, I would periodically go in a little room and cry. I just wish my mom and dad were here to see that their investment in me was worth it,” he said in a low tone.

Williams gave special recognition to retired chief superintendents Timothy Keelan and Rowley Moore, who both played a significant role in his professional and personal life and were instrumental in helping him to overcome obstacles and doubts.

During his years of service, he led numerous investigations into domestic murders, abuse of children, and vulnerable adults, which resulted in the perpetrators receiving lengthy custodial sentences.

“I look back at my policing career with great fondness as I have worked with some great people, collaborated with some excellent partners, and supported victims and families at their lowest ebb,” Williams said.

“I always feel a tinge of sadness at the end of each successful murder investigation because I know that I could never give the family of the deceased what they would have really wanted, which is to have their loved one back with them,” Williams said.

Since his retirement in 2021, Williams has been working as chief operating officer for the Anthony Walker Foundation, which supports victims of race and religious hate crimes.

Walker, who is of Jamaican descent, was murdered by a group of white males in 2005 because of the colour of his skin.

The retiree has also been spending valuable time with his wife Elaine and reconnecting with his daughters Melissa and Jessica.

judana.murphy@gleanerjm.com