CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Former Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson -- who was fired in connection with an investigation into after-hours drinking last year -- has been sued for allegedly sexually harassing and assaulting a woman who was his employee when he ran the police department.
Cynthia Donald alleges in the suit that Johnson engaged in violent, abusive and harassing conduct for more than three years while she was his subordinate during the time he ran the Chicago Police Department.
“Eddie Johnson repeatedly harassed and abused me and made it clear that I had to follow his orders, which included engaging in unwanted sexual activity in order to keep my job,” Donald told reporters Thursday in a Zoom news conference.
She alleges Johnson promised her promotions, sent him nude photos of himself and forced sex on her, including in his office at police headquarters.
Donald claims Johnson started sexually assaulting and harassing her in the summer of 2016.
“After the first time he sexually assaulted me in his office at CPD headquarters, he told me that I belonged to him. He referred to me as his girl. At times when I was able to avoid his sexual advances, he would tell me, ‘You got away this time.’”
She said in the suit that Johnson "ordered" her to accompany him on the night of Oct. 16, 2019, when the then-superintendent had drinks downtown before falling asleep behind the wheel on his way home.
Johnson has not yet responded to the allegations outlined in the civil lawsuit, which also names the city of Chicago as a defendant.
Johnson, a veteran of CPD who rose through the ranks, was selected by then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2016 to head the department in the wake of the Laquan McDonald scandal.
Johnson’s downfall came in October 2019, when he was found sleeping behind the wheel of his department-issued SUV. Responding officers let him go, but the Inspector General launched an investigation in which it came to light the top cop had been drinking downtown with a member of his security detail.
Lightfoot fired Johnson in December, saying he had lied to her about the incident.
Donald’s attorneys say at least half a dozen high-ranking police officers knew about the relationship.
The lawsuit claims that Mayor Lightfoot ordered Johnson to “dump” Officer Donald by having her transferred. The city's law department offered this response:
“We are aware of the lawsuit filed by Cynthia Donald against Mr. Johnson and the City. Mr. Johnson was terminated from his role as superintendent in connection with his conduct during the events of October 16-17, 2019. We cannot comment on the specific allegations, which, if true, would be inexcusable. Mayor Lightfoot emphatically denies, and common sense dictates, that Eddie Johnson ever told the Mayor about allegations of abuse or harassment of Cynthia Donald by Eddie Johnson. Ms. Donald’s lawyers never claimed otherwise.”
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