Police Brutality / Individual record
Ronald D. Williams Jr.
The Washington Post's Fatal Force database records Ronald D. Williams Jr. in a fatal on-duty police shooting on 2016-05-06 in Weirton, WV. Individual circumstances and legal outcome require case-specific review.
- Record ID
- PB-424
- Incident date
- May 6, 2016
- Outcome
- Fatal
- Location
- Weirton, WV
- Agency
- Weirton Police Department
- Category
- Fatal on-duty police shooting
What happened
Ronald D. Williams Jr., 23, was killed by Weirton, West Virginia, police after a domestic-disturbance call on May 6, 2016. Rookie Officer Stephen Mader first encountered Williams holding a handgun and asking officers to shoot him. Mader spoke calmly to Williams rather than firing, believing he could de-escalate a suicidal crisis. When additional officers arrived, one shot Williams, killing him. The prosecutor concluded the shooting was lawful. The police department later fired Mader, criticizing his failure to use deadly force; he challenged his termination, and the city later settled his case. A ProPublica/FRONTLINE investigation examined dispatch audio, police files and conflicting explanations. The officer's choice not to shoot, and his subsequent firing, make this case unusually important for understanding the role of de-escalation.
Investigation & findings
Individual legal and investigative outcome not yet reviewed.
Washington Post Fatal Force v2; 2015–2024
Source record details
- Source incident ID
- 1519
- Race code in source
- B
- Race source method
- not_available
- Gender (source)
- male
- Armed status (source)
- gun
- Flee status (source)
- not
- Agency IDs (source)
- 1253
Sources & records
- Primary source
- Additional source
- Methodology and national police killings trackingMapping Police Violence · Dataset/methodology
- Fatal Force v2 — fatal on-duty police shootings, 2015–2024The Washington Post · Dataset