By Steve Alexander Reporter
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Published: Thu, May 22, 2008 - 9:29 pm
Steve Alexander
Harold Johnson died Thursday morning at Providence Hospital at the age of 66.
Johnson had suffered heart problems through much of the latter part of his life.
His friends affectionately remember him as the "Urban General."
And Johnson didn't let an early retirement from the police department stop him from public service.
Even after he retired, he stayed active dealing with issues like juvenile crime by hosting a radio show.
Mayor Sam Jones was on the selection committee in 1990 when Johnson was picked as the first African American police chief in Mobile's history.
Jones said, "When he did his personal interview then, it was a real experience to hear him talk about his vision for the Mobile Police Department."
Current Police Chief Phillip Garrett was a corporal when Johnson was appointed chief.
Garrett said, "He was needed for this city. The city needed to move forward in a quick fashion and he gave us that."
Services for Harold Johnson begin Tuesday with public viewing from 6 pm to 8 pm at Stewart Memorial CME Church on Dr. Martin Luther King Avenue.
The funeral will be held at the same church Wednesday morning at 11:00 with internment at Pinecrest Cemetery.
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I knew Chief Johnson when he worked at the Detroit Police Department. He was my TAC (training) officer in the police academy and was always a fair man to all. I never worked with him on the mean streets of Motwon but I know from other officers that he would always have your back and could be counted on when the chips were down. May he RIP.