The quarterback of the community safety plan that Mayor Brandon Johnson credits for historic drops in violent crime was abruptly fired Thursday amid allegations of a hostile work environment and self-promotion.

Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Garien Gatewood was called into a meeting with Johnson’s chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, and his top aide, Jason Lee, and told they were “moving in a different direction.”

“They told me they wanted to work more on policy,” Gatewood told the Sun-Times.

When asked what that meant, Gatewood responded, “That’s the question you have to ask them.”

“People shouldn’t be allowed to say they don’t talk about personnel matters,” he added. “If people believe it’s working and we are clear who was helping this work together … then all I can do is hope the work continues and people’s lives continue to be saved.”

One of Gatewood’s top deputies, Manuel Whitfield, director of violence prevention and community safety, was also fired.

The mayor’s office put out a statement confirming the change but saying little else. First Deputy Jason Sanford will now serve in the interim role.

The office maintained its longstanding policy of not discussing personnel issues.

However, sources close to the mayor’s senior staff said the environment on Gatewood’s team was “deteriorating rapidly,” and that multiple team members made reports of “hostile gestures” toward women “not aggressively but in a way that made them uncomfortable.”

“There were real concerns about this type of behavior and other complaints regarding the work environment,” the source said. “It was all part of a hostile culture we were trying to mitigate.”

Gatewood argues he created a “welcoming and open” work environment.

Mallory Harrity, a policy adviser to Gatewood, told the Sun-Times she never saw “any indication of hostility toward women.”

“This firing completely shocked me to the core,” Harrity said. “He [Gatewood] is saving lives and making a difference.”

Another source familiar with the mayor’s office said there were concerns about Gatewood’s self-promotion, claiming he’d been booking his own appearances and applying for other jobs.

The sources said Gatewood was offered the opportunity to resign but refused and was fired.

Regardless of the rationale, the firing couldn’t be more ill-timed with summer months just around the corner, a time historically marked by spikes in crime.

Last year, Johnson largely credited “The People’s Plan for Community Safety,” a violence prevention initiative led by Gatewood, for the summer’s decades-low number of homicides.

Just this week Johnson’s office sent out a press release applauding a recent media report on the initiative that found crime was down by double digits in neighborhoods it targeted.

“I’m remarkably proud of the work that we were able to do,” Gatewood said. “This didn’t have anything to do with work. Just yesterday, they were tagging me on social media highlighting our work together. “

Johnson created the position of deputy mayor for community safety just hours after his inauguration in May 2023. He saw the role as crucial to delivering on a key campaign promise to confront the “root causes” of violent crime.

Gatewood, then director of the Illinois Justice Project, was his pick for the job.

At the Justice Project, Gatewood was charged with developing strategies to support young people, adults and returning citizens. He also provided behind-the-scenes support for bail reform in Illinois.

The prior iteration of the job, deputy mayor for public safety, became a revolving door under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Four different people took on that role in just three years.