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 Eddie Johnson, the 55-year-old head of the police department's
patrol division, is the third superintendent to lead the Chicago
Police Department in less than four months.
The Democratic mayor said Johnson, who grew up in a city housing
project and started as a beat officer, had a strong record of
fighting crime in his 27 years on the force and would help rebuild
morale among police.
"He has the command, the character and the capability to lead the
department at this critical juncture," said Emanuel, a former chief
of staff to President Barack Obama.
The tarnished image of Chicago's police has been a political
liability for Emanuel, who defied calls to resign last year after
days of protests over a white officer's shooting of black teenager
Laquan McDonald.
That case was one of numerous fatal police shootings of unarmed
African-Americans across the United States that have stirred outrage
and raised questions of racial bias in policing.
 In picking Johnson, Emanuel rejected recommendations made by a
civilian board that had selected three finalists.
Johnson's selection answered calls from civic leaders for an
African-American veteran of the force to be chosen. He also had the
support of a powerful contingent of minority aldermen, which had not
endorsed the black finalist from inside the force, local media said.
Johnson, who did not apply for the position, was named to the job on
an interim basis, but the appointment is widely expected to be made
permanent if his tenure proceeds smoothly.
Johnson said that trust was the key to good policing.
"It is the central challenge facing Chicago today. I know that ...
trust has been broken too often, not just in Chicago but across
America where abusive police practices have occurred," he told a
news conference.
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The law requires Emanuel to pick a candidate recommended by the
Chicago Police Board. The board will begin a new search, and Johnson
said he would apply.
Their recommended finalists for the job in this round included two
African-Americans: Cedric Alexander, DeKalb County, Georgia public
safety director, and Eugene Williams, Chicago's police deputy
superintendent. Anne Kirkpatrick, retired Spokane, Washington police
chief, is white.
Johnson said he did not apply for the post in support of John
Escalante, who was named interim superintendent in December.
Escalante replaced Gerry McCarthy, who was ousted amid public
outrage that the city delayed for more than a year the release of a
video that led to first-degree murder charges against the officer in
the McDonald shooting.
In the aftermath of the protests, the U.S. Justice Department
launched an investigation into Chicago police shootings.
The three candidates chosen as finalists all had good attributes,
but only Johnson met all qualifications, the mayor said without
providing details.
Of 405 people shot by Chicago police over the past eight years, 74
percent were black. The city's population is about one-third black.
(Additional reporting by Mark Weinraub and Justin Madden in Chicago;
Editing by Ben Klayman and Cynthia Osterman)
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