The Columbus Dispatch

Widow: ‘They just shot him’

- JULIE VENNITTI BOTOS/CANTON REPOSITORY

away from her, still inside the enclosed patio.

She said he stepped back into the house and he told her he’d been hit.

“I could see the blood splatterin­g across his shirt,” she said. “He collapsed in the living room.”

Marquetta Williams called 911 and by the time she opened the door, “There were 30-something officers with guns pointing at us, telling us to get down and come out of the house with our hands up.”

In a 911 recording released to the newspaper on Monday, a woman can be heard telling the dispatcher, “My husband is shot.”

On Monday morning, Beacon Academy Principal Cami Lewis went to the family’s house. Lewis said the girls attend her school, and she was preparing to send food, school counselors and other resources to the home.

Holes could be seen in the fencing where, Marquetta Williams said, the bullets had passed through

‘He loved spending time with his kids’

Ja’lia Williams said her father cooked brunch on New Year’s Eve, a meal of bacon, eggs and biscuits.

“That was the last meal he cooked,” she said.

Her mother explained that James Williams loved to cook, often making their favorites, spaghetti and macaroni and cheese.

He had a massive hat collection and, she said, “He was a die-hard Detroit Lions and Detroit Pistons fan. He’s from Detroit. He doesn’t care if they were losing or not, he still rooted for them.”

The Detroit native attended the University of Akron where he studied criminal justice before moving to Canton. The family also lived in Indiana for a short time.

And, she said, “he loved spending time with his kids.”

A stay-at-home father, Williams had four daughters ages 9 through 15 and two step-daughters. Family photos decorating the living room show him proudly grinning in the middle of his large family.

“My husband was a good man, and he didn’t deserve to die this way,” Marquetta Williams said. “He was loved. He was lovable and kind. He would give you the shirt off of his back . ... He’s going to be dearly missed. He shouldn’t have died the way that he did. I just want justice for him.”

 ?? ?? Marquetta Williams recounts the events surroundin­g the death of her husband, 46-year-old James Williams, who had been shooting celebrator­y gunfire into the air to ring in 2022. James Williams was shot to death by a Canton police officer. Williams’ family said the officer fired through the family’s enclosed wooden fence.
Marquetta Williams recounts the events surroundin­g the death of her husband, 46-year-old James Williams, who had been shooting celebrator­y gunfire into the air to ring in 2022. James Williams was shot to death by a Canton police officer. Williams’ family said the officer fired through the family’s enclosed wooden fence.
 ?? ?? Photos of the family of James Williams, 46.
Photos of the family of James Williams, 46.

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