Mayor Brandon Johnson fired his top community safety leader Thursday despite the fact the mayor has given him credit for playing an important part in Chicago’s recent drop in violent crime.
Garien Gatewood, Johnson’s deputy mayor for community safety, had served in the administration since the mayor took office. But his time at City Hall ended suddenly Thursday when Johnson fired him, a move Gatewood told the Tribune “came out of nowhere.”
Johnson spokesperson Erin Connelly confirmed the firing Thursday and said there will be a “replacement swiftly.”
“The Johnson administration is fully committed to making sure our investments in public safety continue to improve the lives of our neighbors,” Connelly said.
Gatewood said he received little explanation from other top administration leaders when he was fired, but was told in a meeting by Johnson’s senior advisor Jason Lee that the administration hoped to focus more on policy in place of his on-the-ground approach.
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Gatewood served as a key liaison between Johnson’s City Hall team and the Chicago Police Department. Leading the office created by Johnson, he became a regular at neighborhood safety meetings, heated protests and crime scenes.
He touted his in-person style as a necessary approach to combatting violence that the Johnson administration might now lack.
“There will never be a question anywhere whether I showed up for people in need,” Gatewood said. “A lot of this work is about relationships, and they don’t have these relationships because they have not spent the time with community members or public safety officials to build actual relationships that lead to safety.”
Sources at the mayor’s office said Gatewood faced internal complaints about creating a hostile work environment. Gatewood denied the charge.
Murders plummeted in Chicago last year, dropping to roughly half of what they were just four years ago. The city also experienced sharp reductions in shootings and gunshot victims, among other violence drops. Such declines have been common in recent years in big cities across the U.S.
The declines were a major policy victory in Johnson’s efforts to tackle the city’s most high-profile problem. That success also gave the mayor critical political momentum.
Gatewood has been a top cheerleader for the Johnson administration’s approach: simultaneously cracking down on crime and addressing its root causes. In public appearances, he credited the mayor’s efforts while flagging the need to further drive down violence.
At one January news conference, Johnson credited Gatewood with a “powerful” description of their shared approach to reducing violence.
“It’s not about how much time it takes, it’s about the commitment it takes,” Johnson said. “Because driving violence down… You know what that means? It means less Black young people who are murdered. That’s what we’re really talking about.”
He pinned his firing on his internal calls for “accountability.”
“You are only as strong as the people you surround yourself with, and if you surround yourself with people who are not willing to tell you the truth or not willing to actually deliver on their jobs, then sometimes that is reflected overall,” he said.
Gatewood’s self-described “right hand,” director of violence prevention and community safety Manny Whitfield, was also fired Thursday, he said. Gatewood added that he has received other job offers, but “remained loyal” to his work in the Johnson administration.
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A group of South Side community safety organizations expressed “immense disappointment” in the firings Thursday afternoon in a letter shared with the Tribune.
“When challenges arose, these two individuals were always present,” the letter from Grow Greater Englewood, St. Sabina Church and Teamwork Englewood said. “Because of that presence, relationship-building and hands-on commitment, we have seen meaningful declines in violence across the city.”
Fr. Michael Pfleger, Saint Sabina’s pastor, told the Tribune he was “saddened” by the firings.
“Those are two good people who have good relationships with the community,” Pfleger said. “I’m particularly concerned because we’re getting ready to go into the summer.”