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Three Sides to a Story
There are two narratives about Wilmington’s dysfunctional police department and Donny Williams, its first Black police chief.
In one, Williams, a native son of the public housing project Creekwood, has spent nearly five years since 2020 trying to reform a systemically racist police force despite being consistently undercut by insubordination. In the other, Williams has overcorrected for past injustices, inappropriately injected race into staffing and policy decisions, alienated officers, and has grown paranoid and controlling as chief.
And, as is often the case with stories like this, some of both may be true.
The city has spent considerable resources dealing with discord in the department. That includes a $75,000 third-party investigation looking into allegations of harassment and mismanagement by Williams. City Manager Tony Caudle has refused to release that final report, keeping it from the press, public, and even city council. But it is difficult to believe the report gives WPD, or Williams, a clean bill of health, since the city followed up with at least $45,000 in consulting work to help improve department management.
Last week, the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association released a survey of 115 sworn officers, nearly half of Wilmington’s police force. The survey did appear to underrepresent Black officers, who made up 4% of survey respondents but have historically made up around 10% of the force. Otherwise, it’s a fair sampling of the department’s rank-and-file officers.
The results were stark.
As WHQR reported earlier this week, nearly three-quarters of officers said the working environment was poor, and just 7% said they’d recommend WPD as a “good place to work.” Some of that clearly comes from issues impacting law enforcement nationwide, including complaints about pay and concerns that understaffing compromises officer and public safety.
But much of it, according to survey results, also stems from specific concerns about WPD leadership. Over 80% of officers said Williams used unfair promotion policies and, more to the point, had created a “racial divide” in the department.
Black community members have repeatedly and strongly suggested allegations against Williams are racially motivated, even an echo of the 1898 coup and massacre. Williams himself has called some of his critics racist.
But it’s hard to square the survey results with Williams’ assertion last year that criticisms come from “pockets of racism,” not the whole department, a point he literally begged reporters to include in their articles. “I’m just begging you to judge them by the color of their hearts, not the color of their skin,” Williams said of his department.
If the survey results are to be believed, and criticism of Williams is, in fact, racially motivated, then the city has a police force staffed predominantly by racists. That would be a catastrophic problem. But it seems something else is going on here. Racism is very likely part of the dysfunction at WPD, but poor policy and mismanagement are also to blame.
The city’s posture on WPD has been to put its head between its knees, declining to comment despite spending over $100,000 on the problem. Both Caudle and Williams are set to retire in the coming months, and several city staffers have told me on background the city hopes the issues will blow over or at least improve with new leadership. That seems optimistic, given how bad morale is.
Some, of course, will cast doubts on the NCPBA’s survey. The organization has no love for Williams and is angling for a hand in reforming WPD and picking the next chief. I think some skepticism is reasonable, but I also agree with NCPBA that the “best way to validate” their survey, as the organization put it, is to release the city’s third-party investigative report. Then, at least, the next batch of city leaders—and the general public—would have a clearer view of what’s gone wrong at WPD, and perhaps how to fix it.
–Benjamin Schachtman
Distrust and Deltas
New Hanover County Schools appears poised to receive less than it’s asking for from the county this year–a lot less.
The district wants $27.4 million on top of its normal operating budget to fund staff raises, new specialist positions, replacement technology, and renovations and repairs. The county is ready to contribute $6.5 million.
Like everyone else, the county is facing inflationary and economic pressures as it shapes its budget. Commissioners are whipping out red pens to try and get staff’s recommended 35-cent tax rate closer to revenue neutral, at 29 cents.
Given that backdrop, the two organizations are also dealing with trust issues. The school system nearly went broke last year, and county leaders have questioned how the situation got so out of hand. Meanwhile, many school leaders feel the county has underfunded the district for years, leading to strain and painful cuts.
The county has looked to offset some of the district’s funding requests to other sources, like the New Hanover Community Endowment or a potential bond next year. A big-package bond would certainly help alleviate things, but earning voters’ approval is a risk: In 2022, county voters shot down a transit tax to fund transportation projects.
At a budget workshop meeting last week, Commissioner Rob Zapple described the schools’ facilities staff as having an “empty bench” and said he wished he were more comfortable giving them more money. County manager Chris Coudriet said he didn’t believe the school district had the capacity to actually execute on the capital support it’s requesting: “Do I believe there is a workforce that could bid and mobilize and do $19 million worth of work over a dozen different projects? No, sir, I don’t believe that.”
On social media, Democratic school board members Judy Justice and Tim Merrick disputed characterizations of the district’s inability to execute projects. School facilities have been “underfunded for decades,” Justice wrote on a post. “As a result our schools are literally falling apart.”
District spokesperson Anita Baggie acknowledged its central office has undergone restructuring but said it remains “fully capable of managing capital projects effectively.”
–Johanna F. Still
Shrimp-a-Ruse
Researchers conducted genetic testing on shrimp sold in Wilmington-area restaurants. (Courtesy SEAD Consulting) A firm conducted random genetic testing of shrimp sold by Wilmington-area restaurants earlier this month, and the results are unsettling: Of the 44 randomly selected seafood establishments, 34 were serving imported, farm-raised shrimp.
Among those 34 restaurants, 25 explicitly misrepresented their shrimp to be local, either verbally or through menus. The results are according to research commissioned by the Southern Shrimp Alliance and conducted by SEAD Consulting.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance calls the restaurants’ 77 percent fraud rate alarming and disappointing. “When restaurants mislead customers, they not only damage consumer trust–they undercut the local shrimping economy and culture,” John Williams, the group’s director, said in a release.
North Carolina doesn’t have seafood labeling laws to compel restaurants to accurately disclose whether shrimp are wild-caught, farm-raised, or their country of origin if asked. The Southern Shrimp Alliance says the activity could still be considered fraudulent under federal law, citing the Federal Trade Commission’s rules that businesses should avoid outright lies and misleading advertising.
The report didn’t disclose which restaurants failed its testing, but did single out the 10 good actors: Princess Seafood, Cape Fear Seafood Company, Seaview Crab Company, Shuckin’ Shack, Coquina Fishbar, King Neptune, Flying Oyster Machine & Bar, Carolina BBQ & Seafood, Boathouse Calabash Seafood, and Riverview Restaurant.
A spokesperson for the group said the 34 restaurants that misrepresented their product are likely not the only ones and that follow-up testing is expected.
–Johanna F. Still
