Internal Anchorage Police Department (APD) documents obtained by the Landmine show that APD hired a mental health clinician six months after APD investigated her for allegations of criminal sexual abuse of a male minor patient.
Eight months after starting with APD, Chelsie Williams resigned when an Internal Affairs investigation was launched into her misconduct while working as a mental health clinician at APD. The investigation concerned the same patient of Williams for which APD previously criminally investigated her. Following Williams’ resignation (which ended the Internal Affairs investigation), there is no indication that APD took any further action to investigate whether Williams engaged in misconduct or broke the law.
APD hired Williams in June of 2023 to work as a member of its Mobile Intervention Team (MIT) – six months after APD had investigated her for having an inappropriate relationship with a mental health patient, who was a minor at the time.
According to APD’s website, the MIT “responds to support individuals in crisis to provide humane, cooperative, compassionate law enforcement intervention to reduce the potential for violence during police contacts, stabilization within the community, and connect individuals to follow-up services.” During the relevant time of Williams hiring and resignation at MIT, now-Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case over saw the MIT.
This June 2023 Facebook post from the Anchorage Police Department about the MIT shows Williams.
Multiple APD records obtained by the Landmine through confidential sources, including police reports and Internal Affairs interviews, paint a complicated picture into Williams’ past. There are three relevant investigations to this story:
- APD’s criminal investigation in January 2023 into Williams when she was the program director at the Adolescent Residential Center for Help (ARCH).
- APD’s criminal investigation in November 2023 into Williams. This was for the same allegations investigated in January 2023. Williams was an APD employee at this point.
- An APD Internal Affairs investigation in February 2024 into how Williams’ handgun was used by a former patient (who she was alleged to have a relationship with) to make threats against himself and his father.
On February 10, 2024 – five days before her resignation – an 18-year-old man, who will be referred to as Mike to protect his identity, was take into custody for using her handgun to make suicidal threats and threats to kill his father. Williams told Internal Affairs that she had left her handgun in Mike’s car, which contradicted prior statements she had made to APD about not having contact with him.
APD photos of Williams’ handgun obtained by the Landmine.
Days after Mike was taken into custody and checked into Alaska Regional Hospital, an APD Internal Affairs investigation was opened to look at how he ended up with her handgun. APD knew that Williams had previously been investigated for criminal sexual abuse of a minor, including with Mike and another patient while she was the program director at ARCH.
Williams had been under investigation by APD in January of 2023, while she was program director at ARCH, for sexual abuse of a minor for allegedly sleeping with a male patient, who was 17 at the time. He will be referred to as Allen to protect his identity. That investigation was ultimately suspended as unfounded. According to the 1/11/2023 police report obtained by the Landmine:
Based on the totality of the circumstances, this case will be suspended as unfounded. The original complainant called police as a mandatory reporter based solely on the statement made by MIKE. There were no independent witnesses of anything inappropriate occuring [SIC] between CHELSIE WILLIAMS and ALLEN. Both CHELSIE and ALLEN confirmed they had been working together to find him a job and complete his GED, and nothing inappropriate or sexual had ever occurred. MIKE refused to speak to the patrol officer when provided the opportunity to explain his allegation.
Although the investigation ended without sufficient proof that Williams had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a minor patient, Williams separated from ARCH not long after the investigation was completed. APD hired her not long after.
After only five months at APD, on November 29, 2023, another investigation for sexual abuse of a minor was opened into Williams. This investigation concerned the same allegations about inappropriate sexual relationships with patients while she was working at ARCH.
This new investigation was complex, and involved both Allen and Mike. It involved the alleged victims, family members of the alleged victims, and current and former co-workers of Williams. One was a member of the Wasilla Police Department’s Mobile Intervention Team, who reported to APD that she thought Williams had an inappropriate sexual relationship with Allen when he was a minor and patient at ARCH. The police report from that investigation is 40 pages long.
Many excerpts from the report are revealing. Morgan is the member of the Wasilla Police Department Mobile Intervention Team who made the report about Williams. The following are from police interviews that were included in the police report.
MORGAN said it was her understanding ALLEN and MORGAN had been talking with MIKE, and at some point ALLEN and CHELSIE decided at some point they were not going to date any more, and CHELSIE started a relationship with MIKE. MORGAN told me at some point that went “awry” and ALLEN and CHELSIE reconnected. According to MORGAN, ALLEN told her he was at CHELSIE’S house at some point, and MIKE arrived and threatened to “shoot the place up.” MORGAN stated it turned into “a bigger fight” and ALLEN and CHELSIE left to ALLEN’S grandmother’s house in Anchorage. MORGAN remarked that CHELSIE lived in Eagle River at the time. MORGAN said it was her understanding MIKE ended up chasing ALLEN and MORGAN and he tried to run them off of the road. MORGAN said ALLEN told her MIKE did hit CHELSIE’S car at one point, although she wasn’t sure if there was any damage.
MORGAN told me ALLEN’S sister had been telling him it was wrong, and his friends had also been telling him it was wrong, and CHELSIE was an adult and knew what she was doing. MORGAN said ALLEN told her people had been telling him CHELSIE was grooming him, but ALLEN didn’t think that was true because he knew what he was doing, and had some “responsibility in that.”
I asked her to tell me about CHELSIE. MORGAN told me CHELSIE was the program director at ARCH and she was there for just over 3 years. MORGAN stated she herself was at ARCH for about a year before leaving. MORGAN said CHELSIE had an inappropriate relationship with ALLEN at the time, although she (MORGAN) didn’t know it was sexual in nature. MORGAN told me “it was a lot of excessive time alone in her office,” and CHELSIE was coming back to work after hours after putting her children to bed at 2200 or 2300 hours. MORGAN told me those were not CHELSIE’S scheduled hours. MORGAN stated there were clients who were concerned about it and made reports to them and it was “tricky.” MORGAN said the reports were technically supposed to go to CHELSIE, and so they reported it to their clinical supervisor at the time, [REDACTED BY LANDMINE]. MORGAN said that was all they could do, and it was up [REDCATED BY LANDMINE] in terms of how it moved forward. MORGAN said eventually there was a formal investigation by APD and CHELSIE was placed on administrative leave for a week, and then she came back.
I asked her to spell MIKE’S last name, and she did (REDACTED BY LANDMINE), and she thought MIKE was 18 years old now. I asked MORGAN to tell me again what happened with the “car chase.” MORGAN said ALLEN told her he was at CHELSIE’S house in Eagle River and MIKE arrived and made some threats towards ALLEN and CHELSIE, and so ALLEN and CHELSIE tried to leave the house and go to Anchorage. MORGAN said while they were driving, MIKE was following them, and at some point MIKE tried to run them off of the road and he came into contact with CHELSIE’S car. MORGAN stated they got scared and someone called two ex-clients, who then arrived to de-escalate the situation. I asked her to tell me the names of the ex-clients, and MORGAN identified them as [REDCATED BY LANDMINE] and the other person was [REDACTED BY LANDMNIE], although she did not know his last name.
ADAM [ARCH employee] told me on 1-22-22, 17-year-old ALLEN had been admitted to their facility and was put on CHELSIE’s case management case load. ALLEN had graduated out of the program on 8-8-22. During the eight months ALLEN was in the program ADAM said he started to see a lot of unethical behavior between CHELSIE and ALLEN. ADAM said he saw CHELSIE was spending a lot of time with ALLEN which was over and beyond the amount of time a clinician should be spending with a client. ADAM said that the usual amount of time a clinician would spend with a client in the program was a 1 hour a week. At most, and depending on the client’s trauma needs, a clinician might spend up to but no more than 3 hours a week. ADAM said any more than that Medicaid would get flagged and there would be questions as to why a care provider was spending so much time with a client. ADAM said he saw CHELSIE spend upward to 8 hours a day with ALLEN if not more. ADAM said CHELSIE would often stay late, several hours after her shift ended, and would sometimes come back in the late hours. During this time ALLEN would be with CHELSIE in her office with the door closed.
ADAM said the behavior was strange and didn’t make sense to him. ADAM said ALLEN would get special treatment as well. ALLEN would get out of his assigned chores or program responsibilities and CHELSIE would explain it away stating this was part of ALLEN’S trauma plan. When ALLEN would get in trouble CHELSIE would be lenient with him whereas a similar situation for another client might get expelled out of the program. ADAM said he brought up ALLEN’S special treatment and her extended hours with him to other staff members which included [REDACTED BY LANDMNIE] and MORGAN as well as in staff meetings. CHELSIE would claim that this was part of ALLEN’S care plan or some other excuse regarding trauma informed care.
ADAM told me that after CHELSIE left employment at ARCH, MIKE had come by to visit the facility and say hello. One time was in the July 2023. ADAM said that MIKE arrived on a black sport type motorcycle. Another employee named MORGAN commented that the motorcycle looked similar to one that CHELSIE posted on her social media profile as being her boyfriends. When MIKE came again ADAM made the decision to ask him directly if he was in a relationship with CHELSIE. MIKE told him that he couldn’t answer that question honestly. To ADAM this confirmed to him that CHELSIE had in fact been in a relationship with MIKE and he believed she had been in one with ALLEN as well while she was employed at ARCH as a clinician and the program director.
ADAM said that there were other social media posts on CHELSIE’s page regarding her “boyfriend” getting tattoos and hiking in Alaska. ADAM said that no one he knows has ever met her boyfriend or knows his name. When there are pictures on social media the head of the male is cut off. ADAM said he had blocked CHELSIE and [REDACTED BY LANDMNIE] on his social media profiles, but he had seen them from MORGAN. ADAM said the male in the photos he believes to be MIKE based of the size and shape of his body. ADAM said it is similar if not exactly like MIKE’S body type.
When Williams was interviewed by APD on December 19, 2023 as part of the criminal investigation, she denied all the allegations, including the road rage incident. She told the APD officer she never had a sexual relationship with either Allen or Mike. She also said she had not maintained contact with Mike:
I asked CHELSIE if she maintained contact with MIKE, and CHELSIE said “No.” I asked her if there was any reason she wouldn’t tell me about that if she did maintain contact with him, and CHELSIE said “No.” I asked CHELSIE if anyone else ever started or perpetuated a rumor that she had sex with any other clients at ARCH, and CHELSIE said “No,” and “Not to my knowledge.”
But less than two months later, Mike was taken into custody for making threats against himself and his dad with her gun. Through the course of three Internal Affairs interviews with Lieutenant Ken Bushue, Williams told Bushue that she intended to go shooting with Mike, and that she left her handgun in his vehicle. It was also revealed that Mike had worked for Williams’ father doing roof work since the previous summer.
Williams told Bushue that she saw Mike when he was working for her father, and she had invited him to go shooting. She said they did not end up going shooting because it was late, but that she left her handgun in his car. She told Bushue it was a “bad judgment call” on her part when he asked her why she had invited Mike to go shooting.
Williams was evasive with Bushue several times during the interview. She refused to hand over her phone records and said she deleted her call records and voicemails before the Internal Affairs interview. She could not provide good answers to why she did not call APD when she learned that Mike was threatening to kill himself and his father. Instead, she called his father, who then called APD.
Several phone calls Mike made while in the back of an APD vehicle indicate Mike, and his parents, knew Williams well. Mike refers to Williams as his girlfriend several times. The following transcripts are from the APD Internal Affairs report obtained by the Landmine.
06:45, Mike makes a call:
Charlie (likely Williams’ dad): What’s up?
Mike: Dude, Chelsie got the wrong people involved. She called my parents, and they called the police, and now we’re both fucked. So it doesn’t matter what she does now, and it doesn’t matter what I do, we’re both fucked.
Charlie: So look. You’re running around thinking irrationally with a fucking gun. You’re the one [***] wanted to get the gun.
Mike: Now we’re both fucked, now she’s fucked, she doesn’t understand that, now she’s fucked.
Previously, Mike spoke to Officers referring to “my girl” and “my girlfriend,” who called his parents and whom he came to meet at the Speedway. Mike said his dad was with his girlfriend, and she left the Speedway as he arrived. Mike refused to tell Officers his girlfriend’s name.
21:55, Mike makes a call:
Unknown Female: Hello?
Mike: I’m literally in the back of a cop car right now.
Unknown Female: Why?
Mike: Because why do you think? Because Chelsie. And now they’re running the [***], so now we’re both fucked, and I didn’t say shit, so it’s like, it doesn’t matter.
Unknown Female: Who’s fucked?
Mike: Her, I didn’t do shit either, bro.
Officer: [From front seat] Nobody’s in trouble.
Mike: I know, but it’s deeper than that.
Unknown Female: So, they know?
Mike: No, they don’t know yet, but they’re about to find out when they run this [***].
Unknown Female: When they what?
Unknown Female: When they run it, dude.
Officer: [From front seat] Is the gun stolen, dude?
Mike: No, it’s not stolen. Not it’s just, no, it’s not. Promise it’s not. It’s just dumb, bro. She shouldn’t have brought my parents into this. She knows they call the cops.
Mike continues his conversation with the unknown female, telling her he didn’t do anything, that he didn’t call the cops, and that “she” did.
Unknown Female: You can’t say you stole it?
Mike: No, bro! They are going to run it right now. I already have charges for a stolen firearm. I’ll get years for that, dude!
Mike: It doesn’t matter, they’ll go through a whole [***] thing, and then they’ll figure, find that shit out, then it will be even a bigger deal.
Unknown Female: What did you tell them?
Mike: I didn’t tell the police shit. I didn’t call the police.
Unknown Female: You didn’t mention her or [anyone’s] name?
Mike: Hell no, you’re trippin’.
28:10, Officer informs Mike the gun is negative:
Officer: I don’t know if that’s what you’re freaking out about, but.
Mike: Naw, I’m not. I knew it wasn’t stolen, bro. It’s just, it’s just, you guys are going to, fuckin, bro.
Officer: What?
Mike: Bro, it’s not me I’m worried about, bro. I’m worried about my family. Now my family’s fucked. Now everybody I know is fucked
At 30:20, the Officer asks Mike who to return the gun to, then asks who owns it. He tells Mike there’s no “gun registry,” and he’ll have to log it into evidence.
Mike: Mmm, my dad.
Officer: It’s your dad’s?
Mike Yeah, you can give it to him.
Officer: Your dad said it’s your girlfriend’s.
Mike: [Visibly nodding “yes.”]
Officer: Who’s your girlfriend?
Mike: [Visibly shaking head “no.”]
Officer: Does your girlfriend have a warrant?
Mike: Hell no, my girlfriend, hell no. Not even close, bro. Opposite side of the scale.
Officer: So it’s your dad’s gun?
Mike: [Shaking head “no”] Go ask him whose it is.
The Officer tells Mike he is going to log all property, including the gun, into property and evidence at APD.
Mike: Can you just ask my dad because I don’t want to tell you, so he can tell you?
Officer: Your dad gave us your girlfriend’s info. We just can’t get a hold of her.
Mike: Oh my god. He already gave you guys the information?
Officer: Yeah.
Mike: Okay, you need [***] last name then.
Officer: What’s her birthday?
Mike: [Shakes head “no,” then nods ”yes”] Today.
Officer: Today’s her birthday?
Mike: [Nods head “yes”] Yes.
Williams told Bushue in her Internal Affairs interview that the day in question was in fact her birthday, and APD police records show her birthday is February 10. This is an excerpt from Williams’ Internal Affairs interview:
Bushue: So let’s go back to this evening. Did you did you work Saturday?
Williams: Did I work Saturday? No.
Bushue: It’s not a regular scheduled work day for you?
Williams: Yeah, it was my birthday, so I had off. Yeah, I went and got some Botox and went to the gym and went to my nephew’s soccer game.
Continuation of transcripts of phone calls Mike made from the back of the APD vehicle while in custody.
33:07, Officer leaves the car, and Mike makes a call:
Mike: Mom.
Mom: Hey.
Mike: Can you please call Chelsie and please let her know and please make sure she knows that I did not tell the police that I’m with her. That I did not tell them anything, that you guys did.
Mom: Yeah.
Mike: Because I would die if that’s not known.
Mom: Yeah.
Mike: I would die.
Mom: Yeah.
Mike: I can’t even say goodbye to her. You guys fucked that for me, man. I just need to stop seeing her, man, but it’s shitty, bro.
Mike: I just feel bad for Chelsie. She doesn’t even know what she did to herself.
Mike: Can I at least talk to Chelsie and tell her I love her?
Mom: No, bud, that’s not what you need to do right now.
Mike: It’s not what I need to do. It’s what I want to do. It just sucks. Like, why did you guys have to? Why did you guys tell them bro? Why did you guys have to tell them her information, though? Like, you all could have done all this without doing that.
Mom: Because I’m not going to lie, son, and what’s going on is not right.
Mike: So now I gotta suffer the consequences, though.
Mike asks his mom to ensure Chelsie knows he did not tell the police anything. Mike then asks his mom, “What about all my shit?” and mom tells him they will get it all later because he will not be allowed to go over “there” anymore. Refer to text messages between Mike’s dad and Chelsie. See file Chelsie and Mike dad Text Messages.
Mike talks about wanting to go home but doesn’t know where that is. Mike states, “I miss Chelsie, bro.” Mike makes more pleas, asking her to make sure to tell Chelsie he did not say to the police that she was his girlfriend.
58:00 Mike calls an unknown female for a few seconds, then disconnects.
58:54, Mike makes a call:
Charlie: Hello?
Mike: Charlie.
Charlie: What’s up?
Mike: I’ll tell you exactly my story from start to finish.
Charlie: Where you at?
Mike: I’m at the hospital right now. So, literally, I guess my dad told the police officer what my girlfriend’s information is. So, I don’t even know what to do, bro.
Mike speaks to Charlie about how it was not him who called the police; it was his parents, and “she” knew it was the wrong move to get his parents involved. Charlie asks Mike why he was at the hospital, and he tells Charlie, “Because Chelsie told my parents that I’m gonna….” Charlie tells him there’s no reason to talk anymore, just to get evaluated then call him when he is done. Mike then calls his mother and refers to his conversation “with Chelsie’s dad.”
When contacted by the Landmine, Charles Bucolo, who goes by Charlie, would not answer any questions about the story, including how long Mike had worked for him and the nature of his daughter’s relationship with Mike. During the short phone call he was aggressive and asked that an article not be published about his daughter, saying it was a “bad idea.” He then hung up the phone.
When contacted by the Landmine, Chelsie Williams told the Landmine she resigned her job at APD for personal reasons and to take care of her kids. When asked if it had to do anything with the gun she claimed she left in Mike’s car and the Internal Affairs investigation that followed, she said she had nothing else to say and hung up the phone.
When reached by phone, Lieutenant Bushue said he could not comment on an Internal Affairs investigation.
At the end of the interview, Bushue tells Williams it’s clear to him that she and others were trying to conceal her relationship with Mike, and that he felt she is being untruthful. The next day, Williams resigned from APD.
When William sent in her resignation, it went to then-Deputy Police Chief Sean Case. Case was appointed police chief by Mayor Suzanne LaFrance after she defeated former Mayor Dave Bronson last year. Case spearheaded the Mobile Intervention Team and oversaw it while Williams was employed by APD as a mental health clinician.
In her Internal Affairs interview, Williams refers to Case multiple times, indicating he knew about all of this. From her Internal Affairs interview:
Bushue: By all appearances you are covering your contact with Mike since the past summer.
Williams: Covering it to who?
Bushue: To us, the Anchorage Police Department. You knew you were under investigation. I understand that you answered only the questions asked to you based on advice of your attorney. Did anybody explain to you that this was going to be investigated administratively?
Williams: Case said that it was going to you guys, you guys were probably going to end up looking at the file, but the detectives explicitly told me like this is about like mostly he wanted to look into like Allen at ARCH. And so that’s what was my thought process. It never was a thing that, I was never worried my relationship, my friendly relationship with Mike because I wasn’t doing anything wrong, you know, and so I, I’m not worried, I was never worried about that. So, I didn’t intend to bring that up to somebody, I guess, I knew that it would be investigated, but mostly about Allen.
Later in the interview when Williams refused to give Bushue her phone records:
Bushue: Either that, or you can contact your provider and they can provide you with all that. Cause that doesn’t go away.
Williams: Yeah, no I know that, Yeah.
Bushue: But if you can do that, that’s something, that’s another one piece that I can do it.
Williams: Yeah.
Bushue: But when I ask you about it, I need to, I understand that it’s you’re right to say no.
Williams: Yeah
Bushue: And there may be a thousand different reasons. But being the investigator that I am, when you say no, that makes it, okay, what is it it showing that you don’t want me to see.
Williams: Yeah. And I, you know, I’m not trying to be defensive. I guess I’m just like exhausted from this process, and…
Bushue: And that might help me be able to stop this. Because once this investigation is done, unless there’s something completely brand new…
Williams: Yeah.
Bushue: We’re done.
Williams: Yeah, and that’s what Case said. So I’m just like, oh my god like it’s just never ending. And I know some of that is my responsibility like at this point with my firearm, and I understand that I was maybe irresponsible in that moment with it. But yeah…
Bushue: And I’ll tell you if you got your phone log, I’m not interested in who else you’re calling. I’m not going to start calling people up. That’s not my intent. My intent is telling you that if I can show that there’s not a pattern, that there’s not something, then that helps me help you.
In his Internal Affairs report, Bushue concluded that Williams was dishonest about her relationship with Mike and that she violated duty requirements. Bushue found that there was not sufficient evidence of sexual misconduct. Because Williams resigned before he completed his Internal Affairs investigation, the case was closed.
CONCLUSION:
Honesty: During my investigation, Chelsie denied outright any relationship with Mike. Text messages between her and Mike’s father, Mike’s statements on camera to multiple people, and interviews with Mike’s family members clearly describe a romantic relationship between Chelsie and Mike and strongly indicate that Mike had been living with Chelsie in some capacity up until the 2/10 incident. Chelsie was dishonest in her statements in this investigation. In two separate criminal investigations, Chelsie denied any relationship with Mike, APD #23-001118 in January 2023, and APD #23-038618 in November 2023. However, it was established that Mike began working for Charlie in the summer of 2023, which was never mentioned in the November investigation. Chelsie appeared to be evasive and not forthcoming in the previous criminal investigations. I therefore find this complaint SUSTAINED.
Duty Requirements: When Mike called Chelsie on the evening of 2/10 and made statements about hurting himself – while having possession of her handgun, Chelsie opted to call Mike’s father instead of the police even though Chelsie said Mike’s relationship with both of his parents was strained and mentioned Mike had told her he wanted to hurt his dad. Chelsie explained she knew Mike was not serious based on her experience with him at ARCH. Chelsie never contacted the police or the officers who responded to the call to relay her involvement, her knowledge of the incident, or how/why Mike had her handgun. Chelsie did not contact her chain of command either, saying she would “Just figure it out” when she returned to work. I therefore find this complaint SUSTAINED.
Sexual Misconduct: There is no debate that Chelsie first met Mike while he was a 17-year-old patient at ARCH, but it is unclear if a relationship started at that time. Chelsie was a clinician and the program director at that time. After Mike left ARCH, Chelsie’s father, Charlie, soon hired him, with whom Chelsie also occasionally worked. Although Chelsie and Mike both continued to deny any relationship, the statements from family members indicate the relationship began after Mike had left ARCH. I therefore find this complaint to be NOT SUSTAINED.
On 2/15/2024, Chelsie resigned from APD before I completed this investigation.
CASE STATUS:
Closed.
After Williams resigned from APD, it does not appear APD took any further action despite her lying to them about her relationship with Mike and the fact that he ended up with her gun. A license search on the State of Alaska’s website shows Williams currently holds an active Clinical Social Worker license.
Below is an excerpt from Chelsie Williams interview with Lieutenant Ken Bushue for the Internal Affairs investigation. The real names of Mike and Allen have been bleeped out by the Landmine to protect their identities.