Jamaica Block Named In Honor Of Slain NYPD Detective

JAMAICA, QUEENS — A Jamaica block has a new name in honor of the late NYPD Detective Keith L. Williams, who was killed in 1989 by a prisoner he and a fellow detective were transporting.

A "Detective Keith L. Williams Way" street sign went up Saturday at the corner of 172nd Street and Liberty Avenue, after the City Council approved Council Member I. Daneek Miller's co-naming proposal earlier this year.

Williams was murdered alongside NYPD Detective Richard J. Guerzon as they brought a prisoner to Rikers Island, according to the New York Post. The NYPD posthumously awarded Williams its highest honor, the Medal of Valor.

Williams had joined the department eight years prior, in 1981.

Born in 1954, Williams was a lifelong Jamaica resident, according to Miller's office.

He started an annual basketball tournament called "Keith's Roundball Classics" in Liberty Park, which was later renamed in his honor.

"Detective Keith L. Williams was a pillar of the community," Miller said in a statement. "As we honor his legacy with this street co-naming, we remember his achievements, and most significantly, his commitment to young people and community development."