Police chief in Fort Worth suburb retires after facing questions at council meeting
Bedford police chief Jeff Gibson announced Monday afternoon he is retiring after 23 years with the city.
Gibson’s last day is Wednesday.
The announcement came a month after Gibson was questioned during a Sept. 22 city council work session when the mayor accused him of making false statements about the level of training officers received and of failing to disclose key reasons why employees were leaving the department at a high rate.
Gibson did not return messages seeking comment.
But Gibson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram previously that he did not mislead council members, and that he did not know he would be questioned about the data on officers leaving and the department’s training records.
“I saw this (police staffing) agenda item at the last minute. I was given no direction as to what was going to occur,” Gibson said.
City manager Jimmy Stathatos, in a news release, thanked Gibson for his contributions to Bedford.
“He has committed most of his adult life to the citizens of Bedford. We’re grateful for his service.”
Gibson started out as a detention officer and rose through the ranks. He was appointed police chief in 2015.
Stathatos will appoint an interim police chief.
During the council work session, Mayor Michael Boyter asked Gibson why he did not disclose the top reasons officers were leaving the department. Gibson told council members during budget meetings that employees were leaving for better pay and better benefits.
However, Boyter said council members submitted open records request for three years of exit interviews, and learned that the key reasons were concerns over supervision and leadership.
Gibson denied lying to the council.
Boyter also accused Gibson of providing council members inaccurate training data.
Council members requested information about training procedures, and learned from open record requests that some officers hadn’t been trained in some procedures for five years.
Boyter said during the meeting that having incomplete data kept council members from making informed decisions in the best interest of Bedford residents.
This story was originally published October 26, 2020 at 7:30 PM.