For Derek Williams, survival is measured in hours and tubes. Every single day, the 19-year veteran of the Mount Vernon Police Department spends nine hours hooked up to a dialysis machine. It is a grueling, exhausting routine that keeps him alive while he waits for a kidney transplant. But recently, the man who spent nearly two decades protecting his community found himself facing a different kind of threat: a termination letter that would have cut off the very medical insurance keeping him on this side of the dirt.
The news hit like a physical blow. Williams was scheduled to be let go on December 31, just six months shy of a major retirement milestone. For a man who contracted COVID-19 in the line of duty back in 2020—the very illness he believes sparked his renal failure—the timing felt especially cruel. He wasn’t asking for a handout; he was asking to work. Despite his condition, his doctors had cleared him for light desk duty. He begged the department to let him answer phones or file paperwork, anything to keep his benefits active.
The department’s initial response was cold. They claimed there was no “light duty” available and classified his failing kidneys as a non-job-related illness. Because of that classification, his pay was stopped, and his countdown to termination began. It was a bureaucratic wall that seemed indifferent to the fact that without insurance, Williams wouldn’t just lose his job—illegally or not, he would likely lose his life. He expressed a deep sense of betrayal, noting that he felt the city he served showed absolutely no empathy for his struggle.
Thankfully, the story didn’t end in a cold office building. After Williams went public with his story, a wave of support crashed over Mount Vernon. Retired officers and community members rallied behind him, pointing out that Williams had shown up for the city during the height of the pandemic when many others stayed home. The public outcry was impossible to ignore, reaching the highest levels of city hall and forcing a much-needed conversation about compassion in civil service.
In a significant turn of events this week, Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard stepped in to right the ship. The Mayor announced a six-month extension of Williams’ employment and health benefits, effectively pausing the clock on his termination. This move ensures that he stays covered under the city’s health plan while he navigates the complex process of applying for a state disability pension. It also keeps him on the active transplant list, a status that requires stable, continuous insurance.
The Mayor’s office stated that this extension recognizes the “serious health challenges” Williams is facing and provides the necessary time to finalize his retirement paperwork. While the city noted some technical disputes regarding his exact retirement date, they ultimately chose to prioritize the human element of the crisis. It’s a temporary victory, but for a man living day-to-day on a machine, six months is a lifetime of breathing room.
Now, instead of spending his holidays wondering if he can afford his next treatment, Williams can focus on what matters most: staying healthy enough for a transplant. He remains on waiting lists across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, hopeful that a donor will eventually be found. It took a public fight and a lot of noise, but for now, the officer who gave 19 years to his city is finally getting a little bit of that protection back.
