Newly released body camera footage shows former Chicago Police superintendent asleep at the wheel

Newly released video shows former Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson asleep at the wheel of a vehicle, an incident that led to his firing.

The 3 minute and 22 second video taken from a police officer’s body worn camera in the early morning hours of October 17, was released by the city of Chicago on Monday.

The video shows a police officer stopping his vehicle, getting out of the car and walking toward Johnson’s car.

The officer approaches with a flashlight and knocks on the window as Johnson appears to be asleep in the driver’s seat.

“Sir, sir, you all right?” the officer says while pointing his flashlight in the window.

Johnson replies, “Yeah, I am.” The officer then asks, “You good?” and Johnson replies, “Yeah.”

The officer asks for ID before turning his body away from the car and saying to someone off camera, “Hey, what’s going on?”

It is unclear from the video who the officer is speaking with.

Johnson then hands his ID to the officer, who asks, “You just sitting here, or you wanna go home?”

The former superintendent says, “Nah, I am good,” and the officer replies, “Alright, sir. Have a good night,” before walking away from the vehicle.

Johnson was not asked to take a sobriety test.

Johnson told reporters following the incident that he decided to park his car because he felt like his blood pressure was rising and thought he fell ill because he accidentally missed a dose of a new medication he was taking.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot fired Johnson in December, saying he lied about the incident and “intentionally misled” her and the public.

“It has become clear that Mr. Johnson engaged in a series of actions that are intolerable for any leader in a position of trust, particularly the head of the Chicago Police Department,” Lightfoot said in a news conference following the superintendent’s firing. “Mr. Johnson failed the hardworking members of the Chicago Police Department, he intentionally misled the people of Chicago and he intentionally misled me. None of that is acceptable.”

Johnson had worked for the department for 30 years and was scheduled to retire at the end of 2019.

He has denied intentionally lying about his actions.

“I acknowledge that I made a poor decision and had a lapse of judgment on the night of October 16. That was a mistake and I know that,” Johnson said in a statement in December. “However, I have no interest in fighting a battle for my reputation with those that want to question it now.”