Brunswick police chief ousted

BRUNSWICK -- Police Chief Edna Johnson was relieved of duty this morning and department veteran Tobe Green named interim chief.

Johnson's dismissal comes after she misled City Manager Roosevelt Harris and Mayor Bryan Thompson about her discipline of an officer who had sex with a prostitute.

Harris said Johnson has a right to appeal. She did not immediately return Times-Union messages seeking comment.

Witnesses said Johnson, accompanied by a friend, sped away after a closed door meeting with Harris this morning. She has not been seen at the police department, personnel said.

Green was among three of the department's senior captains demoted by Johnson last month. He and then-Capt. David Seawell were demoted two ranks down to sergeant. Then-Capt. Larry Bruce was demoted three ranks down to corporal. The three had been captains for six to 12 years.

James Jordan, promoted to captain in August 2008, and David Trawick, promoted to captain in January 2009 are the remaining captains in the department.

Johnson had said the officer, Demetrius E. Dixon, had not known the woman was a prostitute and that he had passed a lie detector test. That turned out to be false, and Johnson took responsibility although she attributed her statements to faulty memory.

Thompson, however, said that Johnson had the case file in front of her and was reading from it during a meeting on the matter.

teresa.stepzinski@jacksonville.com

Check back with Jacksonville.com and Friday's Times-Union for more information.