Knoxville Police Department, Tennessee
End of Watch Friday, July 7, 1989
Add to My HeroesMark Anthony Williams
Patrolman Tony Williams was shot in the back and killed while riding his motorcycle home on Cherry Street toward Interstate 40 in Knoxville just before midnight.
It is believed he was shot because he was a police officer. Two men were charged in the murder but released when one of the suspect's case was dismissed.
A few years later, during a secretly taped undercover drug transaction, one of the men implicated the other man in killing Patrolman Williams. He was sentenced to federal prison for cocaine distribution for 41-55 months. The other suspect was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for other crimes.
In 2023, the grand jury found that the subject "did unlawfully, intentionally, deliberately and with premeditation kill Anthony Williams.” The suspect had died in federal prison a month before the grand jury's decision.
Patrolman Williams had served with the Knoxville Police Department for three years. He was survived by his father, ex-wife, aunts, and uncles.
Bio
- Age 24
- Tour 3 years
- Badge Not available
Incident Details
- Cause Gunfire
- Weapon Gun; Unknown type
- Offender Case solved in 2023
Most Recent Reflection
View all 37 ReflectionsHeavenly Father, I come before You today grieved in heart over the divisions in our country; the United States of America. I grieve for every life lost to violence, regardless of color or creed. And I especially grieve this day over the senseless deaths of America’s Peace Officers whose sworn duty is to protect us from harm. Please grant comfort and hope to their families. I know from the Holy Scriptures in Romans 13 that Peace Officers have a sacred task, to enforce laws that protect the innocent and punish the guilty. I pray that You will protect them as they serve us. Give them wisdom, discernment, and a deep desire to serve You. Please surround every Peace Officer in our nation, the United States of America, with battalions of warring angels to protect them from harm. I stand in the powerful and mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ against every work of Satan intended to inflict injury and death on our Protectors. May Satan’s power be thwarted, in Your mighty and holy name, and his plans exposed by Your Light. In the mighty and holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer, and the Mediator between us, Heavenly Father, in prayer, and by His authority, I pray! Amen.
Please find Encouragement, Comfort, Support, and Hope from God's Word:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
[Matthew 5:9 ESV];
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." [Psalm 23:4 ESV];
"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
[John 15:13 ESV];
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." [Matthew 5:4 ESV];
"And he [Jesus] said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." [Luke 23:43 ESV], and;
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." [John 3:16 ESV].
Chaplain Steven R. Closs, DDiv.
Ordained/Licensed Independent WCM Clergy (06/01/2020)
I'M PRAYING MINISTRY: Devoted to Intercessory Prayer and God's Word
Member: Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers - USA
Member: National Certified Chaplains Association (NCCA)
Member: National Association of Christian Ministers (NACM)
Captain Steven R. Closs (Retired)
Nashua NH Police Department (1974-1998)
July 5, 2025
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