Lt. Burns-Johnson began her law enforcement career working as a Police Dispatcher for the Upland Police Department. In 2005, she decided to pursue her dream of being a police officer and joined the Los Angeles Police Department as a police recruit trainee. Upon completion of the academy, she was assigned to Pacific Area for her probationary period. Since then, she has worked at South Traffic Division as a Collision Investigator, Olympic Division in patrol and their Special Problems Unit, Southeast Area as a Police Officer III and Senior Lead Officer – HACLA Community Safety Partnership. She eventually promoted to the rank of sergeant and was assigned to Newton Patrol Division as a field supervisor. Sergeant Burns-Johnson promoted to the rank of Police Detective and worked Southwest Area Detectives. Following her time at Southwest Division, Sergeant Burns-Johnson reverted to the rank of sergeant and worked Olympic Patrol Division as a field supervisor. She was assigned to Southeast Division as a sergeant, on loan to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the Office of Constitutional Policing and Policy. In March of 2022, Lieutenant Burns-Johnson promoted to the rank of lieutenant and was assigned to Hollenbeck Division as the watch commander. Recently, she upgraded to the rank of Lieutenant II and transferred to Recruitment and Employment Division as the Officer-In-Charge of the Recruitment Section for the Department
Sergeant Burns-Johnson’s educational achievements include a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Administration as well as a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Management and Leadership from the University of La Verne. She is a member of the National Black MBA Association, Los Angeles Chapter and a long-time member of LAWPOA.
As your LAWPOA secretary, Sergeant Burns-Johnson plans to continue to help grow membership not simply by numbers, but by cultivating new ideas for mentorship, leadership and professional trainings to help propel the faithful and diverse LAWPOA membership to the next level of their careers. As a long time LAWPOA member herself, Sergeant Burns-Johnson wants to make sure every member feels their ideas on how to improve our Association are heard; and that your monthly dues are being put to good use for the betterment of the organization and its membership.
As LAWPOA secretary, Sergeant Burns-Johnson is committed to providing members with more than just “lip service”. She strives to make ideas actionable and continue to build upon the legacy of our storied Association.
Sergeant Burns-Johnson is a proud member of a law enforcement family. She is married to a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff and they share two adult children.
