Ramsey names Stephen Johnson new chief of Internal Affairs
Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey has picked a cop who's been on the job for more than three decades to head the department's Internal Affairs Bureau.
Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey has picked a cop who's been on the job for more than three decades to head the department's Internal Affairs Bureau.
Deputy Commissioner Stephen T. Johnson, 58, will officially take charge of the bureau next week, succeeding Chief Inspector Anthony DiLacqua, who is retiring to become director of security at the SugarHouse Casino.
Johnson, a former Daily News George Fencl Award winner who was most recently in charge of Homeland Security and Domestic Preparedness, is "the right person for that particular assignment," Ramsey said last night.
Johnson's younger brother, William, is the executive director of the city's Police Advisory Commission, which investigates citizen complaints against the department.
Ramsey said that he wasn't worried about any potential conflicts of interest between the brothers. "I have no question about Steve's integrity at all," he said.
"He'll make sure that information that should go to the Police Advisory Commission, and information that shouldn't won't be shared."
Johnson, who joined the department in 1977, said that he and his brother "keep our personal and professional lives on different planes."
He comes from a family of cops. His late father, James Johnson, spent 23 years in the department. His wife, Tuwanda, is a retired cop, and his son, Stephen T. Johnson Jr., is a sergeant in Olney's 35th District.
"I relish the challenge," Johnson said of his new gig.
"It's important that we have integrity and public confidence throughout the Police Department."
