"There were a few people in a high level of command who would not accept orders from a Black deputy." Wall says. "There were certain people who were making it difficult lot him to get what he wanted to do done He hucked some command stall who wanted to see him destroyed, or some politicians who wanted to see him destroyed," the minister adds.

Wall, declining to identify specific individuals. describes the problems faced by Johnson as primarily inter-departmental. "Somehow word would get to the drug traffickers before we could make the busts...some officers were on the take."

Various members of the police staff at Area B refute allegations that Johnson had difficulty communicating with his force. Officers unanimously praise Johnson's accessibility. "I don't think he had any problem communicating with people at all. I can't remember anybody complaining about that," says Detective Carl Washington, who worked under Johnson for several years. "He was very easy to talk to," adds Patrolman James Amieno.

"He was fair to all his men and women. He was very easy to talk to, but it was clear who was the boss," says Richard C. Cox, head of the detective unit at Area B for the past 18 months and a 16-year veteran of the Boston police force.

Honor

Amieno is currently organizing ticket sales for an "appreciation dinner" in honor of Johnson. The fete, which Johnson describes as traditional, should attract more than 400 staffers at $22 each. Police at Area B describe this turnout as half again larger than usual. The size of the guest list, they say, indicates that Johnson was a well-liked commander.

Johnson characterizes his policy as "open-door." "An open-door policy is a leadership style that I try to maintain. If there was not enough communication it was because they weren't listening," he says. Late last year, when criticisms about communications first surfaced. Johnson says he was surprised by the allegations. "I don't know where that first came from. I had no problems with my subordinates."

Officers in the department agree on their assessment of blame for the area's high crime rate. Lack of adequate resources. they say, prevents them from patrolling their area properly or following up thoroughly on crimes.

"He did the best he could with the resources he had If there wasn't enough from HQ. It would show," Cox says. Cox noted that in his detective department. staffing had fallen from 50 detectives in the early '70s to 14 when Johnson arrived, with just six full-time detectives now working in Area B. "You just can't do the same work with six men as you could with twice that," Cox says, adding. "In the days when we had 20 day detectives and 10 night detectives they would be assigned B & Es [burglary cases] unless the victim has an idea the crime or there was a direct witness."

Frustrations

In responding to questions about his greatest frustrations while commander of the Area. Johnson frequently refers to the shortage of re-resources. "I was appointed commander directly after Proposition 21/2 [the tax-cutting measure passed by Massachusetts voters in 1980]. The Boston Police department lost 17 million dollars." he says. The result, according to Johnson, "was a terribly traumatic period. For the first time in memory. we had to make layoffs". In one year. the Area B police force lost 30 percent of its budget. In police budgets, the vast majority of money is used to pay for personnel. and the cuts in officers were heavy. "We went from nearly 350 staffers to closer to 200." Johnson says.

"In Boston I'd want more men around to combat certain types of problems," the Chief says, adding. "I'd look around and see that I was bound by a computer. I didn't have enough flexibility." He says that frequently problems would be allowed to get "to the point where they couldn't be avoided any more." At that point central planners would allow him to hire officers with overtime pay on an emergency basis. "It was not an effective way to fight crime," he says.

Another manpower problem arose during the early '80s, when community pressures for walking patrols forced the reinstitution of the traditional "cop on the beat." "Pretty soon every neighbor-hood wanted its own walking cop." Johnson says. "We just didn't have enough manpower." The problems extended from inadequate manpower through a shortage of patrol cars for his men.

Police sources distinguish between these problems and the reality of a hard working. well run police force "[Accusations of incompetence] are a crock of garbage. Paul did the best possible job he could. He never dodged tough situations. I don't think he had any greater problems than anybody else. just more pressures." Thomas says.

Workers in Area B are more vociferous. "Those [accusations] are made by people that really weren't informed. I think you have some people. like Rev Wall. who have proclaimed themselves leaders of crime and law enforcement efforts." Cox says "They do a lot of talk but they don't have resources to back up what they say. It's a lot easier for them to say it than to do it," he adds.