Long Beach Police Department endorses and approves of Todd Johnson carrying concealed weapons, despite Johnson’s history of alcohol-abuse issues while on the job. Evidence from the 2021 Tucson assault suggests that Johnson’s alcohol-related problems are far from resolved.
In audio recordings made during the incident, Johnson can be heard saying he does not care how many drinks he’s had.
Further, he states that he left his gun in a briefcase unattended in the hotel bar earlier that evening. He asked the woman who later reported him for assault to watch his gun, which he talks about as a kind of loyalty test for her.
The recordings reveal Johnson to be slurring his speech, speaking incoherently at times, and desperately paranoid about being set up by “the feds.”
At one point, Johnson declares that he is crazy and punches himself in the head.
At another point, he expresses anger at the Long Beach Police Department for their ingratitude toward his contributions to the department.
Johnson’s expressions of self-harm and contempt for law enforcement ought to alarm LBPD.
Four LBPD officers — three of whom were connected to the gang unit — have committed suicide in recent years. Two of the gang officers — one of whom was retired — died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the same police substation parking lot.
Todd Johnson, now retired, was once a member of the Long Beach gang unit. Will LBPD brass suspend his CCW permit in light of his recent disturbing behavior? Or will they shrug and allow him to remain armed and intoxicated?
P.S. The LBPD manual states that to qualify to carry a concealed weapon, a retired officer “may not be under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance.” Arizona law prohibits anyone, including a concealed weapons permit holder, from consuming alcohol while in possession of a firearm on the premises of an alcohol licensee business. (Source: Giffords Law Center.)