Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
Eddie Johnson, a 27-year veteran of the force, is the department’s chief of patrol.
In defiance of critics, embattled Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has selected an interim superintendent of police, dismissing three candidates that had been recommended by the police board, according to theChicago Tribune.
Emanuel informed some city leaders on Saturday that he has selected the department’s chief of patrol Eddie Johnson, a 27-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, as interim superintendent, the report says:
The choice of Chief Johnson, who is African-American and a 27-year veteran of the force, suggested that the mayor believed an insider was needed to help restore the community’s trust in the department.
The job at the helm of Chicago’s roughly 12,000 officers, which pays $260,000, is among the toughest in American law enforcement. Chief Johnson would face challenges of rising violence; bruised officer morale; and community relations, particularly with African-Americans, that have been strained by outrage over police misconduct. The move by Mr. Emanuel signaled his disapproval of three candidates who had been presented this month by the Chicago Police Board.
Under city ordinance, Mr. Emanuel is required to choose the police superintendent from the slate of recommendations offered by the police board. If he intends to install Chief Johnson in the job permanently, he will have to ask him to apply and request that the board conduct a new search.
Former police superintendent Garry F. McCarthy was fired last year after community outrage over the release of a video showing White officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Laquan McDonald, a Black teenager.
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO CREDIT: Inform
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ARTICLE FROM: NewsOne.com
Article Courtesy of Chicago Tribune and NewsOne
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