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CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson asked the city's police department to conduct an internal investigation on himself Thursday after he was found lying down in a car.
A passerby found Johnson early Thursday in a car parked near a stop sign and called 911. Police department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement that Johnson indicated he parked his car after feeling lightheaded. Officers checked on Johnson's well-being and didn't observe any signs of impairment.
Johnson drove himself to his home nearby.
"There were no charges of intoxication, no information of intoxication as far as I know," Guglielmi said.
Guglielmi says Johnson requested the investigation because he believes officers and the superintendent "ought to be held to the highest standard."
"So what that means is they're going to interview the officers, they're going to look at all available evidence just to make sure that this is above-board and happened as described," Guglielmi said.
The 59-year-old Johnson underwent kidney transplant surgery in August 2017. His son Daniel was the donor.
Guglielmi said Johnson visited a doctor earlier this week regarding a medication change. He said the superintendent on Wednesday expressed concerns about feeling exhausted. Guglielmi says Johnson visited a doctor Thursday to be evaluated on issues concerning his blood pressure.
Johnson was hospitalized in June after doctors found a small blood clot in his lung during a stress test done as Johnson approached the two-year anniversary of his transplant. The clot was treated with medication and rest.
Johnson was appointed superintendent in March 2016 by then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel. His predecessor, Garry McCarthy, was fired days after the release of a video of the 2014 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by officer Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder last year and is serving a nearly seven-year prison sentence.
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