Ryan Place residents to question city council over girl’s kidnapping, police response
A neighborhood group that formed after an 8-year-old girl was kidnapped in Fort Worth will present city council members with questions regarding what they say was inadequate response from police following the girl’s abduction.
The Ryan Place Task Force, which was appointed by the Ryan Place Improvement Association, is requesting written answers to five questions. The group will pose the questions to the Fort Worth City Council on Tuesday night.
The letter, which the group also sent to city representatives, cites concerns that were discussed at a town hall meeting in June regarding a faulty Amber Alert, information going out on social media hours before police released it and overall safety of the neighborhood.
The group sent the letter to local leaders last week. The letter was sent to the Star-Telegram and other media outlets Monday night.
The Task Force will pose the following questions to the city council Tuesday night, according to the letter:
- What FWPD policies have changed to address the known failures of the FWPD’s Amber Alert process?
- How has FWPD modified its social media policy so that officers on the scene are able to disseminate information during an emergency more effectively?
- What barriers prevent FWPD from quickly alerting and engaging with neighborhood leaders during emergencies?
- What resources are unavailable to FWPD and/or what practices are not able to be implemented or modified due to budget constraints?
- Why has the Citizen Review Board not been created?
On the night of the May 18 kidnapping, a regional Amber Alert went out more than three hours after the girl was abducted while walking with her mother near Lowden Street and 6th Avenue. The Amber Alert did not go out properly due to a faulty fax machine at a command post on scene, but officials have already made changes to prevent such mishaps in the future, Lt. Ward Robinson said at the June meeting.
Other residents asked why Fort Worth police released the name and description of the girl, a description of the suspect and the car he was driving two hours after residents posted that information on Facebook.
Police have said they are adjusting procedures so that neighborhood patrol officers can release information more quickly.
The letter from the Ryan Place Task Force also questioned why a Citizen Review Board, the formation of which was recommended by the Task Force on Race and Culture, has not been created.
The Race and Culture Task Force recommended the creation of the board, and Fort Worth city manager David Cooke has approved its adoption. Under the recommendations from Cooke and the task force, a police monitor would track internal investigations and make reports to him and the police chief. The city council is still working on how the board would operate.
This story was originally published August 26, 2019 at 10:16 PM.