Sheriff Alfonzo Williams was born into a close-knit Burke County family and lived near Boggs Academy until the age of 8 when his family moved to the Pilgrim Way Housing Project. He and his six brothers and sisters were raised with Christian values by a single mother who believed in strong discipline.
He says, "We grew up during a time of great community/village raising. We became successful because we had great people who helped us keep hope alive."
Sheriff Williams moved to Augusta in 1990 at the age of 19 to begin his 29-year career in law enforcement at the Augusta Police Department (APD) and served as Chief of Police of the Richmond County School System, Department of School Safety and Security until he took office in January 2017. He served APD for six years (18 months on patrol and four and a half years as a Violent Crimes Detective. His focus as an APD detective was Child Abuse, Delinquent Juveniles and other violent crimes (rapes, murders, aggravated assaults, etc.). He received three Police Officer of the Year awards from various civic organizations during his tenure with APD and has a total of six Officer of the Year awards.
After the city and county governments consolidated in 1996, he moved over to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office as a violent crimes investigator. Later that year he accepted a promotion as the Waynesboro Police Department Assistant Police Chief. In 1998, he moved over to the Burke County Sheriff’s Office as an Investigative Sergeant, specializing in violent crimes, particularly child abuse cases.
Continuing to hone his skills and build his resume as a result, he became an employee of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office in 2001. He worked on patrol for a few months before transferring to the Criminal Investigations Division as a violent crimes investigator.
He joined the CSRA Law Enforcement Training Center in 2002 (then under the management of the Richmond County Board of Education) as the In-Service Training Coordinator, where he traveled the eastern part of Georgia, offering training to certified peace officers. Later that year, the school was reorganized and renamed the East Georgia Regional Police Academy, and he was appointed Assistant Director.
He served as an investigator in the District Attorney’s Office (Augusta Judicial Circuit) which includes Richmond, Burke and Columbia Counties), from 2002 until 2005, working alongside then District Attorney (and now Superior Court Judge) Danny Craig. He investigated and assisted in the prosecution of many criminals such as serial rapists, serial and other murderers, robberies, rapes, aggravated assaults, domestic violence cases, embezzlement cases and RICO cases. He has countless hours of courtroom experience and was afforded a greater degree of law enforcement experience and expertise.
He returned to the East Georgia Regional Police Academy in 2005 as Director where he served for a year before rejoining the DA’s Office where he stayed until 2008.
In 2008 Sheriff Williams accepted an instructor position with Ken Jones at the newly -created Augusta Technical College Police Academy. He worked as the lead instructor at the academy for three years. The academy trained dozens of cadets to become law enforcement officers on topics ranging from firearms to constitutional law and from domestic violence to emergency vehicle operations.
Sheriff Williams accepted the position of Chief of Police in his hometown of Waynesboro, Burke County, Ga., in 2012. He reorganized and restructured the WPD and instituted an aggressive strategic plan to bring about community policing and restore community trust. He and the police department significantly reduced crime and made great strides during his tenure towards his initial goals.
While serving as Waynesboro Chief, he was offered a position by the Richmond County Board of Education as Director/Chief of Police of the Department of School Safety and Security, a position he held until December 2016..
Sheriff Williams has been a certified Police General and Firearms instructor since 1993. He is also a certified instructor in Defensive Tactics, Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC), Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) and ASP (Armament Systems Procedures) Baton training. He has extensive leadership training, including Management Levels I, II, and III, LPO (Leadership in Police Organizations Training) a nationally recognized leadership program hosted by IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police), Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police Leadership Training, and Rural Executive Management Institute Training.
He has an Associate of Applied Technology Degree in Criminal Justice from Augusta Technical College, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Management from Voorhees College and a Master of Education Degree (Instructional Technology) from American InterContinental University. He earned a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Faulkner University in 2019. Additionally, he has 12 credit hours towards a second Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice at Troy University.
He is a member of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, National Association of Chiefs of Police and other civic organizations. He has been teaching part-time at Augusta Technical College as an adjunct instructor in the Criminal Justice program since 2006.
The sheriff is married to Shirleta Williams and they have one daughter, Chandler Williams. Kiara Williams is his oldest daughter.
Sheriff Alfonzo Williams
225 Georgia Hwy. 24
Waynesboro, GA 30830
706-554-2133
a.williams@burkecounty-ga.gov
