An elegant trailblazer: Cincinnati police Capt. Kimberly Williams laid to rest Saturday

Cameron Knight | Cincinnati Enquirer

Capt. Kimberly Williams, the first black woman to reach the rank of captain at the Cincinnati Police Department, died Aug. 21 surrounded by family and friends. She was 54.

“Capt. Williams was a true trailblazer and this is a deep loss for our CPD family,” Chief Eliot Isaac said. “She will be sorely missed by her colleagues, the community, and the many lives she touched.”

Williams was the youngest of eight children and raised by her aunt and uncle, John and Catherine Robinson, after her mother died young, according to her family.

She graduated from Mount Healthy High School and Xavier University. She earned a masters degree in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati.

Williams joined the Cincinnati Police Department in 1988, was promoted to sergeant in 1995, lieutenant in 2002 and captain in 2016.

Sgt. Olivia Greer joined the police force a year after Williams. Greer said they were fast friends, nearly sisters, as the rose through the ranks. They were called "aunt" by each other's children.

“You had a lot of women that came on the job back then that wanted to stand side-by-side with the guys. They wanted to fight and they wanted to brawl and roll around in the dirt like the guys," Greer said. "Here was a woman who was being lady and still getting the job done and getting the respect. I was in awe. She was just so elegant. Poetry in motion, that was her.”

Williams retired Aug. 16 and died from cancer five days later. She would have marked her 30th year on Cincinnati’s police force on Oct. 2.

“Thank you for your assistance with a missing person that was found only with your diligent help.” Chief Thomas E. Doyle, Greenhills Police Department, 2011 commendation

Williams was first assigned to District 1 covering Downtown, Over-the-Rhine and West End.

In 1990, she was transferred to the street corner unit designed to combat street-level drug offenses often utilizing undercover operations. She then went to the vice unit and the investigations unit, all before the end of her third year on the force.

Greer said Williams worked with Job and Family Services gaining social work experience before joining the force. Williams brought a special family-focused method of policing to the streets of Cincinnati, Greer said.

"She had a knowledge and a wisdom, a lot of insight, into how to resolve problems," Greer said. "She would talk with a level of authority that didn’t degrade a person, but let them know that she understood."

“Thank you. Your presence and the food were greatly appreciated.” The Drop Inn Center, 2002 commendation

Over her career, she worked in all five police districts in Cincinnati along with the criminal investigations section, youth services unit and internal investigations.

Shortly after Officer Sonny Kim was fatally shot in the line of duty, Williams was moved to District 2, where Kim worked. She cooked a huge meal for the officers who had to work on the anniversary of his death.

Greer said an officer there, who is not easy to impress, wrote a condolence recently saying Williams "made the district feel like a home, like he was part of the family."

She also helped run a slew of programs for Cincinnati's youth: nighttime basketball, tennis and golf programs, City Camp for parents and children and the cadets program for teens.

She co-founded the emergency search for missing and endangered team, called ESME, named after 13-year-old Esme Kenney who disappeared and was found murdered in 2009, a victim of serial killer Anthony Kirkland.

Williams was a member of Golden Leaf Baptist Church where she taught Sunday school and served with the hearing impaired ministry, the kitchen committee and the church party committee.

"I could not get her to stop talking about work," Greer said. "She lived and breathed her job and she took pride in sharing policing with her community and her church."

Williams was also a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership Class, the FBI National Academy, and the Senior Management Institute for Policing.

“Thanks for your dedication, bravery and professionalism when our home was broken into.” David and JoAnn Lindner, 2002 commendation

She is survived by her son, Robinson Perry, a senior at Walnut Hills High School. Her family said the teen is “her greatest gift to the world.” Williams is also survived by her brother Governor Williams and sisters Carol Samuel, Kathy Chapman, Valerie Larkin and LaVerne D’Armond. She was preceded in death by a sister, Bobbie Jean Simpson-Wallace, and brother, David B. Williams.

Visitation was held Saturday at Lincoln Heights Baptist Church in Woodlawn. A Fraternal Order of Police service preceded the funeral. Williams' body was interred at Spring Grove Cemetery.

Donations can be made to a memory account in Williams' name at Cincinnati Ohio Police Federal Credit Union. The funds will be provided to her son.