{"id":49737,"date":"2022-12-28T21:01:04","date_gmt":"2022-12-28T21:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/12\/28\/army-soldier-who-says-she-was-wrongfully-arrested-as-awol-is-released\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:15:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:15:22","slug":"army-soldier-who-says-she-was-wrongfully-arrested-as-awol-is-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2022\/12\/28\/army-soldier-who-says-she-was-wrongfully-arrested-as-awol-is-released\/","title":{"rendered":"Soldier who says she was unjustly arrested as AWOL released from jail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An Army reservist says she was wrongfully arrested for being absent without leave by armed officers who stormed her home at gunpoint while her children watched in panic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sgt. 1st Class Shantaya Williams, 44, from Grand Prairie, Texas, was reportedly nursing her 1-year-old on Nov. 30 when authorities broke down her door and took her into custody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After about two weeks behind bars Williams was allowed to return home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m more hurt, disappointed and disgusted because it\u2019s like, who else has this been done to,\u201d Williams told a local CBS affiliate<\/a> after her release. When asked if she felt mistreated and disrespected by the Army she said, \u201cI do, because it could have been handled differently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams, an Iraq War veteran who entered the Army in 1997, has been in an ongoing battle over a transfer from her role with the 2nd Battalion, 381st Army Regiment in Texas to the 497th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion in Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a decades long military career in both the Army and Army Reserve, the human resources specialist had hoped a letter from her doctor about her treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, her new baby and child custody issues would be enough to appeal her transfer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, U.S. Marshals and Grand Prairie police arrested the mother of four at her home and accused her of desertion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a real unfortunate bureaucratic snafu and it really is an example of an excessive use of force,\u201d Williams\u2019 attorney Sean Timmons said in an interview with Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe allegation that she is a deserter is defamatory, outrageous, salacious and unsupported by any evidence,\u201d he said, adding that the arrest was potentially motivated by retaliation, race and gender.<\/p>\n\n\n\t