FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 26, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 25
Youth fl ag football tournament honors
legacy of NYPD Detective Keith Williams
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Honoring the legacy of fallen NYPD
Detective Keith Williams, his daughter
Tennile Williams relaunched her
dad’s charitable fund with the inaugural
Detective Keith Williams Flag Football
Kickoff and BBQ event in Jamaica on
Aug. 14.
Th e event was held
at the Detective Keith
Williams Park, which
was named aft er the
detective in 2019.
Looking at the large crowd that had gathered
in the park for an aft ernoon of fl ag
football, an NYPD helicopter fl yover, fun
and barbecue, his widow Rita Williams
said it was an honor that people still
remembered her husband — even though
he has been gone for 32 years.
Det. Williams and his partner Det.
Richard Guerzon were shot and killed by
Jay Stoney Harrison, a 25-year-old career
criminal, on the Grand Central Parkway
in Queens on Nov. 3, 1989, as they were
transporting him back to Rikers Island
from the Queens district attorney’s offi ce.
In an unsupervised moment, Harrison,
who was handcuff ed to a pipe on the
wall in the detective’s squad room of the
Queens district attorney’s offi ce, was able
to break into a locker within his reach and
steal a gun, which he used to kill the two
detectives who were assigned to the DA’s
detective squad.
“Keith was a wonderful, wonderful person,”
Rita said of her late husband, who
devoted his free time giving back to the
community, sponsoring aft er-school and
youth sports programs. “And you can tell
that by the people that are here today.
Th ey never forgot, and as long as we’re
alive, we never will forget. So I’m elated.”
Rita started the Detective Keith L.
Williams Memorial Charitable Fund Inc.
in 1991 and raised over a quarter of a million
dollars for scholarships. She pointed
out that some of the police offi cers
who attended the event were scholarship
recipients.
Her daughter, Tennile Williams, who
was only 12 years old when her dad was
murdered, offi cially took over the “torch”
on June 26. She explained that the fl ag
football tournament in her dad’s memory
was a means to “revamp” the fund and
teach the younger generation about her
dad’s legacy.
“My dad ate and slept his community,”
she said of her father, who was the pillar
of the community. “Th ere was never
a ‘no.’”
Her focus is on providing scholarships
to students and establishing an academic
recreation center for young people to
off er them an outlet, keep them off the
streets and lower the rate of violence
amongst teens.
“Kids are being killed by the hour. Th ey
have nowhere to go. Th ey have no form
of recreation. Th ere’s nothing really out
there,” Tennile said. “If you don’t know
and do your homework, those platforms
are not presented to our Black and brown
babies. I want to get these kids off the
streets and give them somewhere to go.”
She shared that the charitable fund will
have a breast cancer awareness walkathon
in October, and she’ll continue her blacktie
aff airs and dances.
“I want the children to know that this is
not something that just was brought about
yesterday,” Tennile said. “Th is is over 30
years in the making.”
While the games went underway,
Det. Nicholas Masi with the Detective
Endowment Association, which provided
their mobile canteen handing out beverages
and snacks, said it was a wonderful
event in memory of a great detective and
provided an opportunity to forge relationships
with kids.
“It keeps them out of trouble, and it
gives them something to do and gives us
something to look forward to,” Det. Masi
shared.
Undeterred by the scorching heat, the
players gave it their all, competing for the
coveted championship trophy accompanied
by the cheers of family and friends.
One of the teams, the Far Rockaway
Colts, is part of the “Neighborhood
Coordination School Initiative” (NCSI) in
Far Rockaway, an NYPD mentorship program
for at-risk youth.
NYPD Lt. Lenora Moody and Detective
Patrick Blanc of the NYPD’s Community
Aff airs Division, who helped organize
the fl ag football event, started the program
three years ago aft er Lt. Moody
learned about a similar program in Los
Angeles. Aft er a trip to LA, they built on
the program, which aims to break the
cycle of violence and provide at-risk youth
with tutoring, mentoring and fl ag football
training while improving the relationship
between the NYPD and the community.
In partnership with the Department
of Education (DOE), which helps pinpoint
students who would benefi t from
the program, 117 boys receive aft er-school
tutoring provided by the DOE. Th ey are
mentored by 14 police offi cers under the
leadership of Lt. Moody, Det. Blanc and
Sgt. Kai Bowen. Since last year, the NY
Giants are on board, providing additional
mentoring with regular Zoom meetings
between the players, the offi cers and
the kids.
A crucial aspect of the program is the
strong relationship between the kids and
their mentors, who are available for them
around the clock.
Lt. Moody told her offi cers, “I don’t care
what time of night it is. I don’t care if you
went to Haiti; you pick up that phone
because there is a reason why that child is
calling you.”
Twelve-year-old Far Rockaway Colts
player Anthony Child has been part of
the program for three years, and when
he found his mom unresponsive on the
fl oor before she died of COVID-19, the
fi rst person he called was his mentor
Det. Blanc, who was immediately there
for him.
“Th ey’ll be right there to show up to
my house and help me, especially when
my mom passed away,” said Child, whose
favorite subject is math. “Th ey came and
helped me and got me through it. It feels
really good to have someone you can rely
on, and they do the best that they can, so
I really appreciate it.”
Lt. Moody and Det. Blanc pointed out
that the program not only benefi ts the
boys but also positively aff ects their families.
Lt. Moody explained that many parents
didn’t want to deal with the police before
their kids enrolled in the program but
now feel comfortable reaching out if they
need help.
“Isn’t that what we strive for is to have
that connectivity with the community?
And not have that tension, contention?”
Moody asked. “It’s all broken down with
the game of football, a simple process that
the LAPD got right. All we did was take
their concept and enhance it.”
“Th ey are becoming better human
beings,” Det. Blanc said. “Not only the
boys but our parents have become better
human beings. And it’s one big family. We
got 117 boys. Multiply that by like fi ve or
six. Th at’s a lot of people in Far Rockaway.”
Aft er the Playmakers from Queens
won all three games, NYPD Chief of
Community Aff airs Jeff rey Maddrey
didn’t miss the chance to hand out the
championship trophy to them, reminding
the players that competitive sports leagues
were “all about love, respect, teamwork
and working together.”
Denis Urena of the Playmakers and Far
Rockaway Colts player Anthony Childs
shared the desired MVP award because
of their “phenomenal skills” on the fi eld,
Det. Blanc, aka “Coach Pat,” said.
Former correction offi cer Hicks was
inspired to join the NYPD aft er seeing
the program’s positive impact on her two
boys, ages 12 and 13.
“Th e kids are more responsible, independent,
and are more into school, and
they know that they can be anything in
life,” the freshly minted NYPD offi cer said.
Of her switch from NY’s Boldest to NY’s
Finest, Hicks said, “Th e coaches motivated
the kids so much that it made me feel
like I want to be a part of something that
so awesome.”
Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
NYPD Chief Jeff rey Maddrey embraces MVP Anthony Childs
during the trophy ceremony of the inaugural fl ag footbal
tournament in memory of fallen Det. Keith Williams.
Chief Maddrey poses for a photo with two Far Rockaway Colts players after the trophy ceremony of
the inaugural fl ag football tournament in memory of fallen Det. Keith Williams.
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
