Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has officially announced his appointment of Chief of Patrol Eddie Johnson as the department's interim leader.
The mayor spoke Monday, calling Johnson well-respected in the department and citing his knowledge of the Chicago's communities and its people.
Johnson’s appointment comes after Emanuel rejected three finalists recommended by a police board for the permanent position. Johnson, who is black and a Chicago native, says officers must both watch each other's backs and hold each other to a high standard.
He joined the police force as a patrolman in 1988. The mayor's office says he has a strong track record in fighting crime. When he was a deputy chief of patrol, his area led the city in 2013 with a 32 percent reduction in firearm-related violence.
But a former Chicago police officer and leader among retired black officers says Eddie Johnson would be a great choice for police superintendent, but the way Mayor Rahm Emanuel is handling the process undermines public trust.
Richard Wooten says Johnson inspires loyalty among patrol officers and "can quiet the storm" of mistrust in the community in the wake of police shootings. Emanuel has said he will appoint Johnson as the department's interim leader.
But Wooten says the mayor's rejection of three nominees from the police board for the permanent job wastes taxpayer money and makes the process appear rigged. He says his group favored nominee Cedric Alexander, the public safety director in Georgia's DeKalb County.
Wooten worked on the force 23 years, including time under Johnson's command in the Gresham district.