Cover-Up Of Former Chicago Top Cop's Boozy Traffic Stop Detailed

CHICAGO — Police officers who responded when then-police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was discovered asleep behind the wheel of his police vehicle after a night of heavy drinking last year gave the top cop special treatment when they allowed him to drive home, violated police regulations and lied to investigators, according to new report from city Inspector General Joe Ferguson.

The report tells the story of an "incompetent" response to what should have been a driving under the influence of alcohol investigation. Ferguson's investigation revealed that Johnson had "the equivalent of approximately 10 alcoholic beverages" while at a bar with an officer assigned as his driver as part of the top cop's security detail, on Oct. 16, 2019.

When two probationary officers responding to a 911 call in the wee hours of Oct. 17 of a man asleep in an SUV at 34th and Aberdeen discovered the driver was Johnson, they did not ask the top cop where he had been, where he was headed and if he had been drinking, according to the report.

Current police Superintendent David Brown suspended both officers for one day.

Two other patrol officers followed Johnson as he drove, making a wrong turn away from his residence. One of the officers told investigators that Johnson "looked normal," but their actions suggested otherwise.

"By allowing the superintendent to drive home despite concern for his condition, the officers failed to promote CPD's goal of protecting the public and brought discredit on CPD, specifically, because their actions created the impression of giving the superintendent preferential treatment," according to the report.

Brown suspended both of the officers for seven days.

A police sergeant on the scene told investigators he was concerned about Johnson's condition but allowed the then superintendent to leave the scene anyway "knowing he was unfit to drive," the report states. The sergeant was suspended for 14 days.

A police lieutenant supervising the incident violated police orders by recording body camera video of the traffic stop on his cell phone, a violation of department regulations, and forwarded it to the Deering District commander. In an interview with investigators, the lieutenant "made false statements and material omissions" about his actions, a violation of Rule 14, for making false reports, written or oral."

In police departments across the country violating Rule 14 is considered a career killer. Ferguson recommended the lieutenant, who was not named in the report, be fired and placed on the city's do-not-hire list.

Brown disagreed, "concluding that there was insufficient evidence to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the lieutenant willfully failed to disclose making a copy of the body-worn camera footage" to investigators, according to the report. The lieutenant was suspended for 21 days.

The inspector general's office ruled that the district commander failed to report the lieutenant for violating department policy by recording the body-camera video on his cell phone. For that, the commander was suspended for 28 days, according to the report.

Additionally, the investigation found, Johnson's driver, who has since been officer Cynthia Donald, was suspended for seven days for driving home in a police vehicle after consuming "several large servings of rum" at while at a restaurant with Johnson. Donald was suspended for seven days.

On Thursday, Donald filed a lawsuit accusing the former top cop of sexual assault and harassment.