Charleston Police Lt. Shawn Williams talks to the media on the West Side in April. Williams has been suspended from the force and is under investigation. (Gazette file photo)
A Charleston police lieutenant on paid administrative leave is under investigation for making racially insensitive video recordings, sources familiar with the investigation said.
Lt. Shawn Williams, of the Charleston Police Department, was placed on leave last week pending an investigation by the Police Department’s professional standards division. The investigation was triggered after police obtained video recordings taken from Williams’ computer, according to those familiar with the investigation.
Two sources who have seen the recordings say the videos depict Williams’ young daughter dressed in what appear to be articles of a police uniform and dancing to an anthem of the Ku Klux Klan. The refrain of the song repeats the words, “Stand up and be counted, show the world that you’re a man. Stand up and be counted, go with the Ku Klux Klan.”
staff