Eddie T. Johnson

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Eddie T. Johnson (born July 28, 1960) is a retired American police officer who led the Chicago Police Department as its 62nd superintendent from March 2016 to December 2019. He started with the CPD in 1988 as a patrol officer and rose through the ranks to become Commander of the 6th District (2008–2012) and Chief of Patrol (2012–2016). Mayor Rahm Emanuel named him interim superintendent in March 2016, and he was sworn in as the permanent superintendent in April 2016 after a City Council vote.

Johnson grew up on Chicago’s Near North Side in the Cabrini–Green public housing complex and moved to Washington Heights at age 10. He attended Corliss High School, graduating in 1978.

During his tenure, the CPD worked under a federal consent decree to reform use of force and improve training after a DOJ investigation into policing. Johnson supported data-driven policing and community policing efforts. He led a department of more than 13,000 officers and oversaw improvements in officer training that aimed to rebuild public trust after the Laquan McDonald case. Chicago’s homicide rate rose in 2016 but declined by 2018.

Controversies included the handling of the Jussie Smollett case and disagreements with federal immigration policy. In 2019, Johnson spoke out against actions he viewed as mishandling the Smollett matter and declined to attend a speech by President Trump in Chicago. In October 2019, he was found asleep in his city vehicle after an evening of drinking, prompting an internal review. He announced retirement in November 2019, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed Charlie Beck as interim superintendent. On December 2, 2019, Johnson’s contract was terminated for cause; he subsequently retired from the CPD.

Personal life: Johnson lives on Chicago’s Near South Side in Bridgeport. He is divorced and a father of three, one of whom is a CPD patrolman. He remarried another CPD officer in 2017. He has congenital kidney disease, and his son Daniel Johnson donated a kidney to him in 2017. They have supported organ donation and were honored by the National Kidney Foundation in 2019.

In 2020, Johnson was named in a sexual assault lawsuit by CPD officer Cynthia Donald; in March 2024, a federal judge dismissed the case against Johnson and the city.