Activists upset by officer’s reinstatement. ‘The myth of One Fort Worth does not exist’
Fort Worth minority leaders are upset about a decision to give a fired police officer his job back.
The decision to fire Sgt. Kenneth Pierce because he violated the department’s use of force policy, neglected his duties and failed to properly supervise a rookie officer in August 2017 was overturned Wednesday after the parties reached a settlement agreement.
Pierce’s punishment was reduced to 35 days without pay. The reversal means that Pierce will receive back pay for the time beyond 35 days when he was not working and will maintain his rank of sergeant, according to his attorney, Terry Daffron.
The decision to fire Pierce was criticized by the Fort Worth Police Officers Association at the time, but welcomed by minority leaders who expressed concern Wednesday.
Pierce instructed a rookie officer to use a Taser on Dorshay Morris, 29, while she was outside her apartment in east Fort Worth on Aug. 13, 2017. Morris, an African-American woman, had called 911 for help during a domestic violence incident. Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said in 2017 that Pierce became “impatient” and “initiated an unnecessary physical confrontation” with Morris.
Daniel Garcia Rodriguez, a member of United Fort Worth, a local immigrant rights group, responded to the Pierce reinstatement by asking how long it would take Fitzgerald to rehire five recently fired officers in connection with the Christopher Lowe death in July.
Lowe died in the back of a police cruiser while in custody after repeatedly telling officers he was dying and could not breathe. A police investigation determined the officers committed multiple violations of departmental policy, including failure to protect the rights of persons in police custody.
“Yet, here we are today, having just witnessed Chief Fitzgerald give Kenneth Pierce his job back, with back pay, essentially giving him a pass for the same despicable behavior that he was fired for over a year ago,” Rodriguez said. “We are simply asking the question — why? What changed between now and then?”
Jasmine Crockett, the attorney representing Morris, said no one reached out to her or her client regarding negotiations to reinstate Pierce.
Crockett said the private nature of the negotiations between the city and Daffron that led to the reinstatement was a sham.
“They knew they were going to backtrack and do this anyway,” Crockett said. “This was all done hush-hush.”
According to a Fort Worth Police Department spokesman, officers made repeated attempts throughout the process to contact Morris and received no response.
Michael Bell, a community activist and pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Church, said Pierce’s reinstatement follows a history of incidents in which Fort Worth citizens have suffered from aggressive treatment by Fort Worth officers.
In many cases, the victims have not gotten justice while officers have not been held accountable for their actions, Bell said.
▪ The police officers who subdued Jermaine Darden with a Taser strike in 2013 did not face any disciplinary action from the city, Bell said. The Darden family’s lawsuit is still winding its way through the federal courts.
▪ Courtney Johnson, the officer who shot Craigory Adams while he knelt on the ground next to a barbecue fork in 2015, was fired but later had that decision reversed. He received a 65-day suspension and was given an honorable discharge, which allowed him to retain his peace officer’s license.
Johnson also received back pay as part of his agreement with the city.
Johnson was charged with aggravated assault by a public servant, but the jury at his trial deadlocked, causing a mistrial, and the Tarrant County district attorney’s office declined to retry the case.
▪ Jacqueline Craig still has not gotten justice, Bell said. William Martin, the officer who arrested Craig and her two daughters, received a 10-day suspension. Craig’s case is also pending in court.
“Now add Dorshay Morris to the list,” Bell said. “It’s the old norm. The myth of One Fort Worth does not exist.”
Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson stressed that she was not involved in any decision to hire, fire or discipline Pierce. Wilson said the only responsibility her office had was to determine whether any criminality took place.
“In my opinion, no crime was committed,“ Wilson said.
This story includes information from the Star-Telegram archives.
This story was originally published January 30, 2019 at 7:05 PM.
