Sylvester M. Johnson is a retired American law enforcement officer.
[1][2] Johnson joined the Philadelphia police department in 1964 and was soon assigned to the city's Highway Patrol.
[1] In 1972 Johnson was awarded the medal of valor, the police department's highest award, for stopping the armed robbery of a supermarket in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, while off-duty.
[1] Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street appointed Johnson as Police Commissioner to succeed outgoing police chief John Timoney.
[2] Johnson was credited with lowering Philadelphia's murder rate during his first year in office.