Jessica Nelson-Williams
Birth date:
February 6, 1987
Death date:
May 19, 2016
Age at Death:
29
About
Jessica Williams (named Jessica Nelson at birth) was born in Sacramento, California before moving to San Francisco several years later. After moving, she stopped seeing most of her family. Shortly after, she was homeless in San Francisco. She had five kids who were taken care of by her sister. She became accepted into the homeless community who immediately loved and appreciated her. A woman named Jennifer Williams took care of her, causing Jessica to take her last name out of respect. A few months before she died, she became engaged and was planning her wedding. Jessica spent much of her life helping those around her no matter the cost and was considered a very peaceful, kind person by her community.
Jessica Williams was in a Honda Accord that had been reported as stolen. Police officers found her in the car and she attempted to drive away, but crashed into a truck. She began to back up in order to move away from the truck. The car drove in the direction of one of the officers, who shot her one time in the chest. She was taken to the hospital and passed away later that morning. The police said that she was unarmed at the time of the shooting.
Was justice served?
Following the shooting, San Francisco's police chief was forced to resign that same day and the officer who shot Jessica was suspended for 45 days. One of the officers had been suspected of three fatal shootings in the past six months. San Francisco's police department have since added $17.5 million dollars into training officers about other options that do not involve shooting. It has now been over four years since this shooting, and justice still has not been served.