Sylvester M. Johnson is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

law enforcement officer. He served on the

Philadelphia Police Department The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD or Philly PD) is the law enforcement agency, police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police a ...

for forty-three years, including six years as the city's 13th Police Commissioner from January 4, 2002, until January 7, 2008. Johnson joined the Philadelphia police department in 1964 and was soon assigned to the city's Highway Patrol. In 1972 Johnson was awarded the medal of valor, the police department's highest award, for stopping the

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

of a

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

Cheltenham, Pennsylvania Cheltenham is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, United States, with a ZIP code of 19012. It is located directly over the city line (Cheltenham Avenue) of Philadelphia. It also borders Northeast ...

, while off-duty.

Philadelphia Mayor The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Jim Kenney. History The first mayor of Philadelphia, ...

John F. Street John Franklin Street (born October 15, 1943) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 97th Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. He was first elected to a term beginning on January 3, 2000, and was re-elected to a second term beginn ...

appointed Johnson as Police Commissioner to succeed outgoing police chief John Timoney. He took office on January 4, 2002. Johnson was credited with lowering Philadelphia's murder rate during his first year in office. He also improved some community relations. He retired on January 7, 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Sylvester Living people Commissioners of the Philadelphia Police Department Philadelphia Police Department officers African-American police officers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people