A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a sexual assault lawsuit against former Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.
The lawsuit was filed in late 2020 by Chicago police officer Cynthia Donald, who accused Johnson of forcing her to perform sex acts to keep her job. Donald was Johnson’s personal driver when he was on duty.
U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo did not allow the case to go to trial and dismissed all claims against Johnson.
“The fundamental problem with Donald’s argument is that virtually all the evidence of her behavior suggests that she welcomed and actively participated in her relationship with Johnson,” the judge wrote. wrote.
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Johnson was fired in December 2019 after a police officer found him passed out behind the wheel of a department SUV. Subsequent media reports revealed that his death was due to a change in his antihypertensive medication, but that he had been drinking heavily. (Scott Olson/Getty Images, File)
Mr. Johnson’s attorney, Michael Leonard, told news outlets in a statement that the former Chicago police superintendent had always acknowledged that he had a consensual relationship with Mr. Donald.
“The court rightly found that Ms. Donald’s sexual harassment claims were without merit under the circumstances presented. Mr. Donald’s lawsuit alleges that Mr. Johnson reasonably led him to believe that both parties were sexually harassing him. “He admitted that he did, said, and acted in ways that, in fact, were consensual,” Leonard said.
When she filed her lawsuit in late 2020, Cynthia Donald, a Chicago police officer for 14 years, accused Johnson of forcing her to perform sex acts to keep her job. The judge ruled there was evidence that the relationship was consensual. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford, File)
Donald’s lawyer, Robert McLaughlin, said in a statement that “we are disappointed” with the verdict and that he plans to appeal.
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Johnson was fired in December 2019 after a police officer found him passed out behind the wheel of a department SUV. Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot at the time accused him of lying about the incident.
Mr. Johnson served as superintendent of the Chicago Police Department from March 2016 to December 2019. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto, Getty Images, File)
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Mr Johnson admitted to the mayor that he had had “a few drinks” that night, but blamed his symptoms on a change in his antihypertensive medication. Media reports and surveillance video from a Chicago bar that night later revealed that he had been drinking heavily.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
