Eddie Johnson’s police SUV ransacked; CPD says nothing stolen

It’s the bizarre case of Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson’s disheveled Chevy.

Someone rummaged through Johnson’s police-issued unmarked black Chevrolet Tahoe sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning while it was parked outside his home in the Bridgeport neighborhood, but nothing was taken, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Sunday.

Adding to the head scratcher is the fact that the car was not broken into, a door was accidentally left unlocked, Guglielmi said.

Johnson’s security detail dropped him off at his home Friday evening and parked the SUV they use to shuttle the superintendent around town in front of his house before getting into their personal vehicles and heading home, Guglielmi said.

When security detail officers arrived at Johnson’s home about 9 a.m. Saturday morning they noticed the contents of the vehicle were in disarray.

Contents of the glove compartment and the center console were strewn about.

“But nothing was taken, and there was no damage to the car,” Guglielmi said.

Officers had locked the car the night before but apparently one of the doors, for some reason, didn’t lock, he said.

“We don’t know if one of the doors malfunctioned or something was blocking it,” Guglielmi said. “We don’t believe whoever did this knew it was a police vehicle.”

“Sometimes you get kids trolling through vehicles, but nothing in the vehicle, quite frankly, was of any value.”

“We’re going to take this as a learning lesson,” Guglielmi said. “Everyone should lock their doors. These things can happen to anyone.”

There were no guns, computers or police badges in the car, Guglielmi said.

“There was paperwork that said ‘Chicago Police,’ but nothing confidential,” said Guglielmi, noting that it’s possible the trespasser bailed after seeing a “Chicago Police” parking placard.

There have been reports of people peering into cars in the area, Guglielmi said. There have also been seven car thefts in the area over the past few weeks.

Guglielmi said he was not aware of any surveillance cameras that may have captured footage of the incident.

“There’s always a (police) vehicle left at his residence in the event of an emergency in case he has to respond,” Guglielmi said.

Police checked with neighbors on the block, but no other cars had been disturbed.

If police were able to catch whomever rummaged through Johnson’s car, the person could be charged with criminal trespass to a motor vehicle, Guglielmi said.