Police superintendent Eddie Johnson’s godmother always told him, “God works in mysterious ways.” The number of people who’ve volunteered to donate a kidney to Johnson in the 24 hours after announcing his need for a transplant has him thinking his godmother was right.
Johnson, 56, disclosed Friday that he is on a waiting list for a kidney transplant after nearly fainting at a news conference that morning. Since then, in addition to overwhelming support, he’s received offers of kidney transplants from both the police officers serving under him and the citizens Johnson works to protect.
“We have people dialing 911, asking officers to come over to their homes so they can give them their information,” Johnson said at a news conference Saturday morning. “I’ve gotta tell you guys, that’s a humbling, humbling feeling. It really is.”
The news of Johnson’s kidney condition came as the police department faces national criticism over its seemingly runaway violence. President Donald Trump has singled out Chicago violence on several occasions this week, including a tweet that led some to think he was considering sending in the National Guard “if Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage.'”
Adding to woes of Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel was a stinging U.S. Department of Justice report earlier this month that found the Police Department flawed from top to bottom, harshly criticizing officers as poorly trained and quick to use excessive and even deadly force, most often against blacks and Latinos, without facing consequences.
At a news conference Friday night, where Johnson appeared refreshed, Mayor Rahm Emanuel gave Johnson a vote of confidence, saying “he’s exactly the person we want at exactly this time.”
Johnson said he was diagnosed with the ailment – glomerulonephritis, an acute inflammation of the kidney – more than three decades ago when he underwent testing as part of his applying to become a Chicago cop. He was 25 when he was diagnosed, and said he was told by a doctor that his kidneys would probably only last three to four years.
“You have to have faith in these things,” Johnson said on Saturday. “The day that the doctor told me I had this disorder, he explained to me what it was, you know. And that day, when I told my family, we all just said a prayer and then relied on that. Thirty-one years later, here we are.”
Once a kidney donor has been found, Johnson said, he’s been told to expect to be back on the job three to five weeks after surgery. Johnson said he told Emanuel of the kidney condition in March when he was the surprise pick to be superintendent. Until Friday, Johnson had mostly kept his condition quiet, he said.
“Yesterday may have been God’s way of letting me know, ‘Okay, dummy, let people know,'” he said with a smile.
Johnson believes his light-headedness Friday was the result of taking blood pressure medication on an empty stomach – something he promised to avoid doing down the road.
“I’ve learned my lesson,” he said.
Saturday’s news conference followed Johnson’s visit to the Chicago Police Academy to greet and address applicants for this year’s police officer examination. While the department has yet to release its application numbers, Johnson said the numbers looked “so far, so good.” The department, Johnson said, seemed to be on track in reaching the city’s goal of hiring nearly 1,000 beat officers, detectives and supervisors over the next two years, in order to combat the violence plaguing the city.
Johnson said he was especially pleased to see diversity among applicants. He said Chicagoans in minority communities often tell him they’d like to see more cops who look like them patrolling their neighborhoods.
In offering advice to the new recruits, Johnson felt it was important to emphasize the learning curve of becoming a police officer. Officers, no matter their rank, shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions, he said.
“I’m the superintendent and I still ask questions,” Johnson said. “They’ll be fine … we have revamped our curriculum. When this is all said and done, CPD will be a model agency for the rest of the country.”
Tribune reporters Jeremy Gorner and Bill Ruthhart contributed.
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