The former Chicago police superintendent “consumed several large servings of rum” before getting behind the wheel and then lied about the incident, a city watchdog revealed Thursday.
Eddie Johnson was fired by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on December 2, just a few weeks before he retired, culminating a turbulent three-year term as head of a department marked by controversial police shootings, court-supervised reforms, and their management. of high positions. profile arrests.
Johnson’s fall came after an Oct. 16 dinner he had with a fellow officer who served as a driver and worked on the superintendent’s safety details, according to a report by the city’s Office of Inspector General.
The two “each consumed several large servings of rum” and private surveillance video showed Johnson pulling the couple away, according to the supervisory report.
After dropping off his subordinate at the Chicago Police Department headquarters around 10:30 p.m., Johnson drove about two miles before parking near 34th Place and Aberdeen Street.
“The superintendent remained there, illegally parked with his vehicle running, until a member of the public called 911 and reported seeing a man asleep in his vehicle,” according to the report.
An officer appeared at 12:33 am, now October 17, and allegedly asked Johnson, “Sir, are you okay?”
The officer’s body camera recorded Johnson pulling out what appeared to be his Chicago police ID, according to the report.
“Do you want to go, umm, are you just sitting here, or do you want to go home?” reportedly the officer who responded.
No field sobriety test was administered, according to the report.
Finally, a supervisory officer was called to the scene before Johnson was allowed to leave at approximately 12:46 a.m., followed by two CPD vehicles.
He blew out a stop sign and turned into the wrong lane before coming home in one piece, according to the report.
“In addition to driving while intoxicated, the superintendent made two false statements to the public during a press conference on” October 17: that he had dated a friend, not another Chicago police officer, and that he had ordered an investigation. internal. , which it did not do, according to the Office of the Inspector General.
Johnson’s attorney did not immediately respond to phone and email messages left by NBC News on Thursday, seeking comment on behalf of his client.
The department is still conducting an internal investigation of all officers who were involved in the Oct. 16-17 incident with Johnson, a Chicago police spokeswoman said Thursday.
“The Chicago Police Department is reviewing the Office of Inspector General’s investigative report on the personnel that responded to the October 2019 incident that involved Mr. Eddie Johnson,” CPD spokeswoman Kellie Bartoli said in a release. “The department will take the necessary disciplinary action after its full review of that report.”
Technically, Johnson was demoted to lieutenant on December 2 before resigning on December 4 and was placed on the city’s “not eligible for rehire” list, according to the report.
