Chicago's Top Cop Fired Before Retirement: Mayor
Despite planning to serve through the end of the year before his retirement, Chicago's top cop was abruptly fired a month early, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday.
Lightfoot said Supt. Eddie Johnson "engaged in a series of actions intolerable for any leader in a position of trust," citing evidence she had reviewed from an ongoing investigation by the inspector general into an incident in which he was found slumped behind the wheel of a car back in October.
"This is obviously not a decision that I entered into lightly, however the circumstances demanded these actions," Lightfoot said.
Johnson announced he would be retiring last month and was joined by many high-ranking Chicago officials, including Lightfoot, at his retirement announcement.
"Had I known these facts at the time, I certainly would not have participated in a celebratory press conference announcing his retirement," Lightfoot said Monday.
Johnson said he was stepping down to spend more time with his family. He acknowledged that being the city's top cop "has taken its toll."
"Taken a toll on my health, my family, my friends, but my integrity remains in tact," he said.
The retirement announcement came days after Johnson became the center of an investigation after he was found asleep behind the wheel of his SUV on Oct. 17.
Lightfoot said Johnson admitted to her that he "had a couple of drinks" before he was found asleep behind the wheel of his car last month at a stop sign.
Johnson initially said a change in medication triggered the incident and he felt "lightheaded" while driving, but Lightfoot later clarified during an interview with the Sun-Times that Johnson revealed "he had a couple of drinks with dinner."
Johnson ordered an internal investigation of the incident, citing the need for "transparency."
Lightfoot said Monday, however, that "upon a thorough review of the materials" from the ongoing report, "it has become clear that Mr. Johnson engaged in a series of ethical lapses that are intolerable."
She added that he "communicated a narrative replete with false statements regarding material aspect of the incident."
"Had I known all the facts at the time, I would have relieved him of his duties as superintendent then and there," she said.
“Perhaps worst of all, Mr. Johnson has misled the people of Chicago. The 13,400 sworn and civilian members of the Chicago Police Department who work hard every day deserve a leader who they can believe in," she said.
She declined to provide specifics on what in the Inspector General's report promtped Johnson's termination.
"I think it's important for me to make sure that I don't do anything to influence or taint the ongoing investigation of the inspector general and there are certain things that maybe they will become public later but out of deference to his wife and children it's not my narrative to tell, not my story to tell," she said.
Former Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck was named the interim superintendent following Johnson's announcement.
"In public life, we must be accountable for our actions and strive to do better every day," Lightfoot said. "And to achieve the reform and accountability in the department that we know is urgently needed, we require a leader whose actions reflect the integrity and legitimacy of what it means to be a Chicago Police Officer. I am confident that incoming Interim Superintendent Beck is such a leader, and that both he and the eventual permanent superintendent will serve with honor.”
Photo Credit: Joshua Lott/Getty Images (File)
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