Chief Will Johnson has twenty-eight years of law enforcement experience and serves as the Chief Special Agent and Assistant Vice President of the BNSF Railway Police Department. BNSF Railway is one of the largest railroad companies in North America, operating in 28 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. Before joining BNSF Railway, Chief Johnson served eight years as the Arlington, Texas, Chief of Police, leading a team of nearly 1,000 employees. Under Chief Johnson's leadership, APD earned national recognition as a premier law enforcement agency in the United States for promoting community policing, procedural justice, and protecting the civil rights of all people. Chief Johnson serves on the Executive Board for the IACP, after serving as a member of the Board of Directors, and chairs the IACP Police Professional Standards, Ethics, and Image Committee. Previously Chief Johnson 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. He is a lifetime member of the Major Cities Chiefs Association and served as an executive board member from 2019 to 2020. Chief Johnson currently serves on executive boards for the Texas Police Chiefs Association and the Alliance for Children in Tarrant County, Texas.

Chief Johnson serves as a subject matter expert for the Department of Justice and is an executive fellow for the Police Executive Research Forum. He is credited with developing 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.