A Milwaukee police officer was suspended on Saturday after he was charged with physical abuse of a child and strangulation and suffocation.
A criminal complaint against Frank Williams, 30, says that Milwaukee police were called to Children’s Hospital Wisconsin on Wednesday for a report of child abuse, WISN reported. Sgt. Zachery Thoms responded to the call and spoke with a 7-year-old girl, a relative of Williams’s, who told him that Williams “whooped” her with a belt that day.
The sergeant reported seeing seven or eight bruises on the girl’s thigh and a long bruise on her arm.
A more in depth interview was conducted with the girl the next day at the Racine Child Advocacy Center, according to WITI. There, the girl told investigators that Williams gave her a “whooping” everywhere on her body because she was supposed to take a nap but stayed awake.
The girl also said that after beating her with the belt, Williams choked her, WISN said. “He squished my neck,” she said, adding that she couldn’t breathe and it wasn’t the first time Williams had choked her.
The 7-year-old said that a woman was in the room at the time and first told the girl to “stop moving” but later gold Williams, “That is enough.”
“No, it’s not,” he allegedly replied.
The complaint says that Williams also struck a 4-year-old boy in the room. The girl said she could hear him crying.
The complaint did not explain how or why the girl was brought to the hospital.
Milwaukee Police said they had suspended Williams after his arrest on Thursday.
Williams was released from custody Saturday morning, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said.
Records show that Williams had worked for the Milwaukee Police Department for seven years, WITI reported. If convicted, he could face up to six years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
