Like many residents in Gary, Kenneth Williams Sr. lost power at his house after a violent storm ripped through his city on Aug. 11.
He went without power for two weeks but kept working his security job for Armor Security Forces of Crown Point.
Being an armed security guard wasn’t something new to the 67-year-old Williams.
“He’s been doing security off and on for 10 to 15 years,” his son, Kenneth Williams Jr., 47, said Tuesday.
That experience apparently didn’t help late Friday night as the Army and National Guard veteran was shot to death by Gary police and Lake County Indiana sheriff’s deputies while working at the Adam Benjamin Jr. Metro Center near City Hall.
A video live stream shot by citizen journalist Spin Diana of Gary recorded the moment dozens of rounds were fired.
“I don’t really know why (he was shot), but it seems really odd,” Williams Jr. said. “I’m not exactly sure what happened. The information is kind of vague. But instead of the attention going to the individual that caused the disturbance, the attention went to my father.”
As Williams’ grieving family waits for answers, the Indiana State Police is conducting the investigation.
According to the state police, at 10:54 p.m. Friday, six Gary police officers and three county sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of an armed security officer exhibiting “unusual and erratic behavior.”
In a statement from the ISP, officers attempted to “de-escalate the situation.” However, at 11:20 p.m., a confrontation occurred between the suspect and responding officers, resulting in an exchange of gunfire, police said.
Williams was pronounced dead at the scene after midnight on Saturday.
ISP said in its initial investigation that each responding officer discharged their weapons.
“In accordance with agency policy, all involved officers have been placed on administrative leave. At this stage of the investigation, the Indiana State Police will not be identifying the officers and will defer any release of names to the respective agencies,” ISP said in a statement.
Through his spokesperson, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton declined comment.
A witness to the shooting, who asked not to be identified, was at a traffic light when the incident occurred.
“Guns were drawn. I did not see the suspect. Soon, the shooting started. I pulled off, but I still heard the shots,” the witness said. “It was a lot of shots.”
CBS 2 Chicago reported up to 100 rounds may have been fired.
Williams Jr. said he’s angry at how police handled the situation and wants answers about how his father, who is also a grandfather, could die so violently.
“Even if what they say is true (that) he was acting strange or erratic, I believe they could have tried to calm him down, maybe call for help, call a family member. I don’t think it came to the point where he had to be shot or shot at over 100 times. I think it’s just excessive,” Williams Jr. said. “It’s just a lack of empathy for life. It’s just unreal.”
On Tuesday, 29-year-old Jessica Cunningham held a sign outside the Metro Station in support of Williams.
“You can’t even trust the police,” Cunningham said, whose brother, Rashad Cunningham, was fatally shot death by Gary police in August 2019. The officer involved was cleared by the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office of wrongdoing in the death of the 25-year-old Cunningham.
“They (police) said (my brother) was belligerent. It’s like they said Mr. Williams was erratic, but it’s like belligerence and erraticness- does that cost you your life? That’s justifiable? They sent over 100 shots at an elderly man. That’s not elderly abuse,” Jessica Cunningham said. “Is the police in their right mind?
Cunningham said she was out protesting to raise awareness of the incident.
“Me being one person, like this can count for something,” Cunningham said. “The (police) officials are trying to sweep it under the rug and letting it be known, putting it out there, that’s gonna draw eyes on it.”
Williams Jr. said his father loved being around family.
“He was a guy that loved family. He loved to hang around with the kids and the grandkids. He was the guy at the cookout. He’s going to be at the barbecue grill. He’s going to be playing cards. He’s gonna be talking and laughing, just smiling, giving the kids all kinds of sweets and candies. He was the fun person in the group,” Williams Jr. said.
Williams Jr. said he last spoke to his father days before he died.
“I don’t know the exact date, but it was like maybe like two or three days before he was killed. We had a conversation. He’s telling me about the job. He’s about to get ready for a shift. We just had a brief conversation; I just told him we’d catch up later,” Williams Jr. said.
“I never had the opportunity.”