William “Bill” Johnson serves as Executive Director of the National Association of Police Organizations, Inc. (NAPO) in Alexandria, Virginia. Johnson has served as NAPO’s Executive Director since January 2002. He also serves as legal counsel to the Association. As NAPO’s Executive Director, Johnson is responsible for the day to day operations of the largest trade association in the United States representing active duty law enforcement officers. He also presents written and oral testimony before Congress, and frequently meets with Members of Congress as well as cabinet-level appointees in the presidential administration. Johnson is also responsible for overseeing the drafting and filing of amicus curiae briefs in the Supreme Court and various appellate courts around the country. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at law enforcement and legal education seminars. Johnson holds the Certified Association Executive, or CAE credential, awarded by the American Society of Association Executives. He is a registered federal lobbyist.

Johnson is a former law enforcement officer and prosecutor, having served with a small police department in Maine, and, after attending law school, the Miami, Florida State Attorney’s Office. Johnson was responsible for prosecuting a wide range of felony cases and also served as the designated prosecutor for cases involving mentally ill defendants, where competency and/or sanity claims were at issue. He has also served as a law clerk to an Article I federal judge; a basic civil law teacher for inmates nearing release at a men’s correctional institution; and an instructor for Miami-area police academies and for new prosecutors at the State Attorney’s Office.

A native of Chicago, Johnson received his undergraduate degree in organizational behavior and management from Brown University, and his law degree from Georgetown University. He holds a postgraduate certificate in nonprofit leadership and management from Michigan State University. Johnson is also a graduate of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. He is admitted to the Virginia, Florida, Maine, District of Columbia, and United States Supreme Court bars.