Biography

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Will Johnson
BNSF Railway Police
Chief Special Agent
Assistant Vice President

Chief Johnson
Chief Will Johnson has twenty-eight years of law enforcement experience and serves as the Chief Special Agent & Assistant Vice President for BNSF Railway. BNSF Railway is one of the largest railroad companies in North America, operating in 28 U.S. states and three Canadian providences. Before joining BNSF Railway, Chief Johnson served as the Police Chief for the Arlington, Texas, Police Department for eight years, leading a team of nearly 1,000 employees. During this time, the department earned national recognition as a premier law enforcement agency in the United States, promoting community policing, procedural justice, and protecting the civil rights of all persons. Will serves on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and chairs the IACP Police Professional Standards, Ethics and Image committee. Previously Chief Johnson has served as an elected Vice President for IACP, as chair of the IACP Human and Civil Rights Committee, and served on the IACP Financial Review Committee. Will is a lifetime member of the Major Cities Chiefs Association and served as an executive board member for the association from 2019 to 2020. Will presently serves on the Texas Police Chiefs Association and  aruth Police Institute executive boards and the Alliance for Children executive board.

Chief Johnson is a subject matter expert for the Department of Justice and is an executive fellow for the Police Executive Research Forum, where he developed the first national best practices for the use of conducted energy weapons in policing. Chief Johnson is a past recipient of the Police Executive Research Forum Gary P. Hayes Leadership Award, the Ethical Leadership Award from the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration, and the civil rights award from the IACP. 

Chief Johnson holds a master's degree from Texas Christian University and a bachelor's degree from Texas Tech University. He graduated from the FBI National Academy 245th Session, where he was honored to serve as the session president. He is also a graduate of the 35th session of the Senior Management Institute for Police, the 40th FBI National Executive Institute, and the Texas Law Enforcement Management Institute's 45th Leadership Command College.