Shock, disbelief and anger were felt by citizens and fellow law enforcement officers Saturday night when word quickly spread that Lowndes County Sheriff John 'Big John' Williams had been shot dead outside a convenience store in Hayneville, Ala.
Published reports state Sheriff Williams approached a vehicle about 8 p.m. Saturday parked outside the QV convenience store and asked the driver to turn down his loud music. The driver is accused of shooting the sheriff once in the head before fleeing the scene.
The suspect, now identified as 18-year old William Chase Johnson returned to the scene about four hours later with his pistol in his hand. He was arrested without incident and charged with murder. He is currently being held without bond.
Escambia County Sheriff Heath Jackson was one of about 17 Alabama sheriff's and multiple other law enforcement officers who showed up at the scene of Sheriff Williams' death Saturday night. When they responded, the suspect had not been taken into custody.
Jackson said he had met Williams before being elected sheriff, but said he really got to know him after his election.
“Big John was the glue that held the group together,” Jackson said when sheriffs across the state would gather for conferences. “He never said a bad word about anybody and didn't want you to say anything bad about another law enforcement officer. The first time you met him, you fell in love with him.”
Jackson said Williams' big stature made him stand out in any crowd and when he shook your hand, your hand simply disappeared in his grip.
Jackson said Williams was known and respected throughout the United States, noting he got a call from Sheriff Mike Lewis in Wincomico County, Maryland, when he found about about Williams' death.
“He touched a lot of people,” Jackson said. “He was a very humble man and a very caring guy. He touched lives all across the country.”
Jackson also said Williams was not afraid to speak up for what he believed in, but respected the opinions of others.
Jackson said Saturday night he received a call from Clarke County Sheriff Ray Norris who told him Williams had been shot and that he thought he was dead.
“We are a very close group,” Jackson said. “There are only 3,081 sheriff's in the United States and 67 in Alabama. We're a relatively small group, but you will bump into every sheriff at least once.”
With the suspect still at large, Jackson and one of his deputies responded to Lowndes County. He said there were between 200 and 300 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies at the scene doing whatever they could help to locate the killer.
Jackson said in a time when many look down on law enforcement, he was encouraged by the support he saw from the citizens while he was in Hayneville.
“They were standing behind the roped off area with tears in their eyes for Big John,” Jackson said. “The owner of the convenience store stood there and cried. That showed the love they had for Big John.”
“It's a sad day for Lowndes County, a sad day for the state of Alabama and a sad day for law enforcement,” Jackson said.
Former Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith said Williams was one of the most generous people he had ever met.
“You didn't ask him for anything unless you really wanted it,” Smith said. “He would do anything to help anybody. He was exactly what Jesus wanted people to be.”
Smith said Williams' work ethic was unmatched and it showed when he approached a vehicle for disturbing the peace Saturday night.
“I thought the world of him,” Smith said. “I don't know what his weaknesses were but his strengths were what everybody wanted to have. He was a great man with a big heart and spent his life helping others.”
Williams spent more than 40 years in law enforcement, working his way up the ranks before being elected sheriff in 2010.
Gov. Kay Ivey ordered flags to be flown at half staff in Williams' honor noting he became the fifth Alabama law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty this year.
Williams' funeral will be held Monday at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery with visitation beginning at 8 a.m. and the service beginning at 11 a.m.
