A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed the sexual assault lawsuit against former Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.
The lawsuit, filed by Chicago Police Officer Cynthia Donald in late 2020, accused Johnson of forcing her to perform sexual acts to keep her job. Donald was Johnson's personal driver when she was at work.
U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo dismissed all allegations against Johnson without allowing the lawsuit to go to trial.
“The basic problem with Donald's claim is that virtually all of the evidence of her conduct suggests that she welcomed and was an active participant in her relationship with Johnson,” the judge wrote.
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Johnson was fired in December 2019 after officers found him passed out behind the wheel of his department van. Later media reports revealed that he had been drinking heavily, although he blamed a change in his blood pressure medication. (Scott Olson/Getty Images, File)
Johnson's attorney, Michael Leonard, told the media in a statement that the former Chicago police superintendent always acknowledged that he had a consensual relationship with Donald.
“The Court rightfully determined that Ms. Donald's sexual harassment claims were without merit under the circumstances presented, where Ms. Donald admitted in litigation to having engaged in acts, statements and conduct that undeniably caused Mr. Johnson to believe reasonably that the parties were in fact in a consensual relationship,” Leonard said.
Cynthia Donald, who was a Chicago police officer for 14 years when she filed the lawsuit in late 2020, had accused Johnson of forcing her to perform sexual acts to keep her job. A judge ruled that the evidence showed the relationship was consensual. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford, File)
Donald's attorney, Robert McLaughlin, issued a statement saying “we are disappointed” with the ruling and that he plans to appeal.
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Johnson was fired in December 2019 after officers found him passed out behind the wheel of his department van. Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot at the time accused him of lying about the incident.
Johnson served as superintendent of the Chicago Police Department from March 2016 to December 2019. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images, Archive)
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While Johnson admitted to the mayor that he had had “a couple of drinks” that night, he attributed his condition to a change in blood pressure medication. Later, media reports and surveillance video from a Chicago bar that night revealed that he had been drinking heavily.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
