City Mourns Passing of Former Police Chief

May 23rd, 2008

Harold Johnson, the former Police Chief of the City of Mobile, died Thursday morning at a local hospital. Johnson, 66, was affectionately known as the police department’s “Urban General.”

“He made a tremendous impact on public safety, and the level of professionalism in our police department,” said Mobile Mayor Sam Jones. “He was a good man, well respected in his profession and the City of Mobile. He demanded the very best from police officers and employees. His leadership and dedication will be sadly missed.”

Former Mayor Michael C. Dow chose Johnson in 1990 as the city’s first African American top cop. At the age 59, the man who spent more than 30 years in law enforcement said a diagnosis of heart disease "cheated" him, cut short his tenure as the city's top cop, sending him home with a prescription for rest from the stress of daily police work on June 27, 1996.

Following his retirement from the City of Mobile, the former Police Chief, Harold Johnson, acted as a police consultant for Bishop State Community College advising the president of the college on public safety issues.

In 1998 the Mobile City Council voted unanimously to rename the Police Headquarters on Government Street to honor the former Chief Harold Johnson, now known as the Harold L. Johnson Police Headquarters Building.

“CHIEF JOHNSON’S PASSING IS SIGNIFICANT TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND TO ME PERSONNALY. HIS LEADERSHIP MOVED THE MOBILE POLICE DEPARTMENT FORWARD AT A CRITICAL TIME IN OUR EXISTENCE. THE SIX YEARS THAT CHIEF JOHNSON LEAD THIS DEPARTMENT BROUGHT SOME OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGES I HAVE WITNESSED IN MY 37 YEARS HERE. I WILL ALWAYS BE THANKFUL FOR HIS SUPPORT AND FRIENDSHIP,” said Police chief Phillip Garrett.

Johnson became Mobile's police chief on Feb. 1, 1990, following a 15-month trouble-shooting stint with the police department in Ecorse, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.

Johnson started his law enforcement career on April 27, 1964, with the Detroit Police Department.

Mobile City Council President Reggie Copeland remembered Johnson as “A strong disciplinarian. I didn’t know if I should shake his hand or salute him. He was a man of great stature and brought so much dignity to the police force.”

Johnson, who attended Wayne State University and completed specialized training courses at the FBI Academy, the Secret Service School and various other law enforcement institutes, served as president of NOBLE in 1996.

“Chief Johnson was a strong man with deep convictions and impeccable character,” City Councilman Clinton Johnson.

Johnson is credited with working with the Mobile City Council to hire more officers, increasing the number of officers in the Police Department from 250 + to 510 +. He was instrumental in establishing the city's mounted patrol, the multi-law enforcement unit that works with the FBI and a police precinct in public housing projects.

“He was a friend, mentor and somebody I respected,” said Sammie Brown, the former Police Chief for Prichard. “He led by example and I will miss him.”

Johnson is survived by his wife of 49 years, Beverly Ann Edwards, a native of New Orleans, whom he met during his service in the U.S. Navy, while he was stationed in Pensacola. The couple have three children and grandchildren.

FORMER POLICE CHIEF HAROLD JOHNSON BIO:
*Born Aug. 11, 1941, in Detroit.
*Served in the U.S. Navy from 1958 to 1961. Received an honorable discharge.
*Married the former Beverly Edwards, a New Orleans native. They are parents of three children - who are now adults - and grandparents of three.
*Joined the Detroit Police Department on April 27, 1964.
*Received a leave of absence from the Detroit Police from 1985 to 1987 to serve as public safety director in Highland Park, Mich.
*Retired Sept. 30, 1988, from Detroit as precinct commander.
*Served as Ecorse, Mich., police chief from Oct. 1, 1988, to Jan. 31, 1990.
*On Jan. 3, 1990, the Mobile City Council approved the hiring of Johnson as police chief and Reuben Greenburg, chief of the Charleston, S.C., Police Department, as Mobile's public safety director. They became the first blacks to hold such positions in Mobile.
*Began as chief of Mobile Police Department, Feb. 1, 1990.
*Retired on disability June 27, 1996, from the Mobile Police Department.

Funeral Arrangements:

A public viewing will be held on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at Stewart Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, 1266 Martin Luther King Dr. The family will receive friends from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.

The funeral will be held on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 11 a.m. at the church. Interment will be in Pine Crest Cemetery.