A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Chicago police officer alleging sexual assault by former police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, who was out drinking with her the night he was discovered unconscious behind the wheel of his SUV.
Elaine Bucklo, a United States District Judge, reached the ruling without a trial.
Officer Cynthia Donald, who worked on Johnson’s security detail, filed the complaint in 2020. They were both married to other persons at the time.
“The basic problem with Donald’s claim is that virtually all the evidence of her conduct suggests that she welcomed and was an active participant in her relationship with Johnson,” the court stated in its ruling.
Michael Leonard, Johnson’s attorney, said in a statement that the court “clearly got it right.”
“Mr. Johnson has always owned up to and acknowledged that he engaged in a consensual relationship with Ms. Donald,” the statement went on to say. “The Court rightfully found that Ms. Donald’s claims of sexual harassment were meritless under the circumstances presented — where Ms. Donald admitted in the litigation to engaging in acts, statements, and conduct that undeniably caused Mr. Johnson to reasonably believe that the parties were in fact engaged in a consensual relationship.”
Donald’s attorney, Robert McLaughlin, issued a statement saying “we are disappointed” with the decision and that an appeal is planned.
Donald’s lawsuit claimed Johnson sexually harassed her, encouraged her to engage in sexual acts, and even emailed her nude images of himself between 2016 and 2019, after assigning her to his detail and subsequently as his chauffeur.
“Superintendent Johnson used his position of power and authority over Plaintiff to pressure her into engaging in these sexual acts by conditioning her employment and advancements within (the Chicago Police Department) upon her submission to unwanted and unwelcomed sexual activity, promising her promotions, and berating her whenever she summoned the courage to resist his advances,” according to the complaint.
Former Mayor Lori Johnson fired Johnson in December 2019 for allegedly lying about his activities. Johnson revealed to the mayor that he had “a couple of drinks” that night, but attributed his condition to a change in blood pressure medication. Later, media reports and surveillance footage from a Chicago club that night revealed that he had been drinking significantly.