Northeast Tarrant

Interim police chief brings years of experience to Fort Worth suburb

Jeff Gibson announced his retirement after five years as Bedford police chief.
Jeff Gibson announced his retirement after five years as Bedford police chief. Star-Telegram archives

Bedford named a retired assistant city manager from Roanoke as interim police chief.

According to a news release, Gary Johnson, who retired in August, will start his new job in Bedford on Nov. 9.

Johnson will lead the department until the city hires a permanent police chief. Johnson was police chief in Roanoke from 2003 to 2018 when he became an assistant city manager.

Johnson will work in Bedford with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement to do an extensive audit of various divisions in the police department and to coordinate a staffing analysis.

Johnson was named two days after Jeff Gibson announced that he was retiring after five years as police chief.

Gibson retired after he was questioned at a city council work session in September about training data and the reasons why a large number of officers were leaving the police department.

This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 5:15 AM.

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Elizabeth Campbell
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
With my guide dog Freddie, I keep tabs on growth, economic development and other issues in Northeast Tarrant cities and other communities near Fort Worth. I’ve been a reporter at the Star-Telegram for 34 years.
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