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A cellphone video taken by an alert but horrified Minnesota high school student proved that a sworn, licensed police officer knelt on the neck of a prone subject to restrain him.
The teen that I refer to is not Darnella Frazier. Frazier, of course, is the young lady from Minneapolis who recorded the last nine-and-a-half minutes of George Floyd’s life. Her cellphone video sparked a worldwide protest movement and became a key piece of evidence in the felony convictions and subsequent prison time for Derek Chauvin and three other Minneapolis police officers.
This time, the incriminating images were captured by Woodbury High School students. They surreptitiously used their cellphones to get pictures of the egregious actions of their substitute teacher, Steven Dwight Williams.
A career law enforcement officer who has worn a badge for the Prescott, Wis., Police Department for the past two years, Williams was supposed to be teaching English to Woodbury high school sophomores and seniors.
Williams deviated from the lesson plan when he made the decision to allegedly tell lurid, racist and sexist stories from his law enforcement career. Even more disturbing was when he pinned a student — a child! — beneath his knee on the classroom floor. He used the student as a prop to represent George Floyd; Williams cast himself as Chauvin and re-enacted the actions that killed Floyd.
Almost immediately, students brought pictures and recordings of Williams’ actions to their principal. After taking in just a three-minute video of the moonlighting cop’s unhinged behavior, the principal escorted him out of the building. Williams has since been banned from district property.