Police Sergeant: Ameer Williams – From the Streets to the Badge

Okay Nightmare Success lifters, we are back, and man am I excited about this guest. When I talked with Ameer Williams, I got one hell of a comeback story. This guy went from selling drugs on the streets of New Haven to becoming a police sergeant in that same city. And if that sounds impossible, well, it almost was.

Ameer’s story starts in a place a lot of us know. His biological father worked at Pratt Whitney making airplane parts, but drugs changed everything. “My father started using drugs and once he started using drugs, he became abusive and she left,” Ameer told me about his mom’s decision to get out when he was just three or four years old. They moved to Newhallville, what he calls “a bad neighborhood or so-called bad neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut.”

From Good Grades to Drug Dealing

Here’s what’s interesting about Ameer’s path. He wasn’t some kid who was failing in school or getting in trouble early on. “I was always considered a smart kid. I got good grades,” he said. The drug dealing didn’t start until after high school, around 17 and a half years old. It began innocently enough when his cousin, who was on house arrest, asked for help. “My cousin was on the bracelet. He got arrested. He had to be in the house at 6 p.m. So he was like, can you do this for me? I don’t care. I started doing it with him.”

That partnership lasted about three or four years, from ages 17 to 22. But unlike some elaborate investigation that brings people down, Ameer’s arrests happened by chance. The first time, he was accused of a drive-by shooting he had nothing to do with. He’d driven past someone on his motorcycle, and right after he passed, the guy got shot. When police pulled him over, they found drugs. The second arrest was even more random. He gave his uncle a ride, dropped him off, and when he stopped, police got behind him. He ran, they sent a K9 after him, and again, they found drugs.

Prison Reality at 22

Ameer took a plea deal: 15 years suspended after five, with three years probation. At 22 years old, he found himself in prison completely unprepared. “I walked in like a baby crying,” he said, and he’s not ashamed to admit it. “The first night I was in there, I had tears coming to mind. The food was terrible. I was in a 10 million cube. I wasn’t even in a cell.”

What really hit him was missing his kids. His son was three and a half when he went in, and his daughter wasn’t even born yet. “I missed her birth. I miss almost five years of my son’s life,” he said. That reality of being away from family, of missing those years you can never get back, that’s what drove him to change.

The Miracle Release

Ameer’s release story is one of the craziest I’ve ever heard. He thought he had another year to serve when a corrections officer told him to pack up for the halfway house. He hadn’t had any interviews or preparation. Turns out his younger cousin had used Ameer’s name and birthday (777, he calls it one of the simplest birthdays ever) when he got arrested. The system had them mixed up.

At the halfway house, they figured out the mistake. “You got the grandparent’s right, but you got the father wrong. Your father’s not named Willie,” the intake officer said, looking at the paperwork that showed Ameer Williams AKA Willie Minor. The director called the Department of Correction, but instead of sending Ameer back, they decided to let him stay. “You know what? So she doesn’t want to use his, use your name and benefit a Jew. He’s got to stay here,” the director said. Just like that, Ameer had a year knocked off his sentence.

The Pardon Process

Ameer didn’t waste his unexpected freedom. He worked two jobs, got his education, and started the long process of applying for a pardon. This wasn’t easy. It took four attempts, and at the time he received it, he had the longest criminal record in Connecticut that they’d given a pardon to. The judge who originally sentenced him had told him a pardon was his only way forward, and he never forgot that advice.

The education piece was crucial. By the time he got his pardon on December 12, 2012, he had his associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, and his first master’s degree. “When I got my pardon, she said, I talked to my friend, he said, you should be all right. She thinks you’re the poster board of people that went to prison and change their life around,” Ameer explained.

From Job Fair to Police Academy

The path to becoming a police officer started at a job fair at Gateway Community College. The New Haven Police Department had a packet that mentioned they wouldn’t hold your past against you if you’d received a pardon. Ameer met Officer Dobson there, who became instrumental in his journey. “When I look at people, when they say the police department is going to hire people to have a record, I’m thinking maybe a petty larceny. Maybe something happened when you’re 18 years old, never did it again. Nothing like me,” he said.

But Officer Dobson believed in him. She became his background investigator and made sure he was treated fairly through the process. The department was actively looking for New Haven residents, people from the city, people of color who could connect with the community in ways traditional recruits might not.

Walking Into a New World

Becoming a police officer meant entering another world Ameer had no roadmap for. Just like prison, he was a “newborn baby” trying to figure it out. “My idea when I walked to the police department was that I was going to figure that my past. I got a job where I could make decent money. It wasn’t even about really being in police officers about just trying to be responsible and take care of my kids.”

But his past followed him. When his cousin got sentenced to 25 years federal time as part of the Jackson drug organization, the media interviewed Ameer. That article circulated in the police department, along with his old arrest articles. Some officers welcomed him, others didn’t. He had to prove himself every day, but he had one advantage: he understood the community he was policing in ways his colleagues never could.

Now Ameer is a police sergeant, and he’s helped over 500 people navigate the pardon process. He’s got a book coming out called “Bellman’s Son: From Prison to Precinct.” His story shows that the system can work when someone does the work, gets the right help, and refuses to give up after being turned down three times.

The guy who once sold drugs in New Haven now protects and serves that same community. Sometimes the person who’s been there understands the streets better than anyone else.