Chicago mayor fires city’s top cop

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot fired the city’s retiring police superintendent Monday, citing “ethical lapses” that included telling lies about a recent incident in which Eddie Johnson was found asleep at the wheel of his car after having drinks.

Named to the job in the wake of a police shooting that killed a black teenager, Johnson was dismissed after the mayor reviewed an inspector general’s report and video evidence related to the night in mid-October when officers discovered him unconscious in his SUV. He initially blamed his failure to take his bloodpressure medication and said he had a few drinks with dinner earlier in the evening.

The officers did not conduct any sobriety tests and let their boss drive home. It was unclear if they would be disciplined.

Lightfoot said the police chief of the nation’s thirdlargest city repeatedly lied about the events that unfolded the night of Oct. 16 and morning of Oct. 17.

At a hastily called news conference Monday, the mayor declined to offer details “out of deference” to Johnson’s family and the ongoing investigation.

A Chicago police spokesman did not immediately return messages seeking comments from Johnson.

Before he officially announced his retirement in November, Johnson denied that it had anything to do with the incident. He said he did not care about making it to April as police chief, when his pension was to become fully vested at about $260,000 a year.