Annapolis Station Renamed After 1st African American Police Chief

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Join Annapolis officials Thursday at 3 p.m. as they celebrate the renaming of a police station to the Chief Joseph S. Johnson Police Station. A reception will be held afterward from 4 to 6 p.m. at Banneker-Douglass Museum.

The station is being renamed in honor of Johnson, the first African American police chief in the history of Annapolis. An Annapolis native, Johnson served from 1994 to 2008. He was an Army veteran and began his career with the Baltimore Police Department in 1968, working his way up through the ranks to colonel. He retired from the Baltimore Police Department in 1991 and joined the Annapolis force as an assistant chief of police. He was elevated to chief in 1994.

Guest speakers at the ribbon cutting including Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Adrienne Jones, Alderman Fred Paone, Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell Charles, Rev. Dr. Tamara England Wilson (chair of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture), Chanel Compton (director of the Banneker Douglass Museum) and others.