Meet the San Francisco Police Officer Combating Bias in the Force

Glamour has partnered with The Center for Investigative Reporting and Glassbreaker Films on a series of short films that feature portraits of a diverse, powerful group of women who are making waves and confronting the status quo. The stories cover a range of distinctive figures—from a police officer fighting racism from within her department to a politician being touted as the next Democratic nominee for president of the United States—all directed by women. See all the films here.

In March 2015 federal court filings revealed racist and homophobic texts sent by San Francisco Police Department officers. The messages referred to black officers in the department, including Lt. Yulanda Williams, a seasoned SFPD officer.

The text message scandal set off a public controversy about bias, racism, and complicit silence within the department, which Williams said was indicative of a widespread problem within the SFPD and their treatment of minority officers and minority communities.

“As law enforcement, we have an ultimate responsibility,” says Williams in this short film by Emily Harger. “We have forgotten about our disenfranchised communities, and in doing so, we have citizens who can’t trust the police. Citizens who say their relationship has been broken.”

Williams, however, was denounced by the department’s union for her criticisms. Two weeks after Williams came forward, the union president sent a letter to 2,000 members, saying he was “disturbed” by her accusations and that there was no evidence of racism within the department nor its policing of minority communities.

She quit the police union shortly afterward.

“I decided it was my responsibility to boycott something that did not represent me,” she says. “I’m a police officer 10 hours of the day in uniform. After that, I become a citizen just like every other citizen.”

Williams says she has no plans to stop speaking out.

“For me, my strongest weapon will never be my gun,” she says. “For me, my strongest weapon will be my mouth, and then, after my mouth, my knowledge.”

She’s still committed to bridging the gap between the SFPD and the community, as well as protecting the rights of her fellow officers.

“I want to see true reform. I want to be able to say there’s a legacy that I left behind for someone else to follow.”

Glassbreaker Films is funded by the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation.