Congratulating Donny Williams, Bertina King, and Alan Jones

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SYKES. Mr. Speaker, this Police Week I rise to recognize three incredibly dedicated veteran detectives of the Akron Police Department who will be retiring from the force.

Detectives Bertina King, Alan Jones, and Donny Williams have served the Akron community for 33 years each for a combined total of 99 years of experience.

The trio started on the job together in 1991, and, since then, they have each left their own personal mark on the department.

Detective King made history as the first Black woman to join APD's major crimes unit. She also helped establish the sexual assault nurse examiner unit at the former St. Thomas Hospital to provide survivors of sexual assault with culturally sensitive and trauma-informed evaluation and treatment.

Recently, she led the effort to create the department's sexual assault kit initiative to investigate unsolved rape cases to bring justice to survivors.

Detective Jones is a part of the street narcotics uniform detail, which works to protect our communities from guns and drugs. He was also the first Black canine handler in the unit with his dog Midnight.

Finally, Detective Williams is the longest-serving member of the street narcotics unit starting just 1 year after the unit was created in 1992.

All three detectives have worked on high-profile cases and helped bring dangerous criminals to justice. This trio has exemplified what it means to serve our city with dignity and respect and have demonstrated the power of having a force that reflects and represents the community they are sworn to protect and serve.

We thank them for their many years of service and wish them the best in their well-deserved retirement.

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