Fort Worth urged to adopt citizen oversight of police department
Fort Worth should have an independent citizen review board of the police department as well as a civilian police monitor, city manager David Cooke said Tuesday, but the oversight won’t have the teeth some critics wanted.
Cooke’s recommendations follows a Race and Culture Task Force report that called for oversight of the police department, but didn’t specify how that should function. In all, the task force recommended more than 20 strategies to address race and income disparities in Fort Worth, and Cooke said all should be followed.
But the citizen review of policing will likely be the most contentious. Fort Worth is the only major city in Texas without some form of civilian oversight board over the police. The majority of U.S. big cities have a such a board, Cooke said.
Cooke first recommends the city hire a police monitor, a civilian who can take people’s complaints or concerns about the department, review internal police investigations and provide reports to the city manager, council and review board.
That board would provide comments about officer discipline and review police policies.
Neither entity will have subpoena power, make personnel decisions or conduct internal investigations into office misconduct.
“They’re more review and advisory in nature,” Cooke said.
Members of United Fort Worth, a grassroots organization that has criticized the task force, had hoped for more power in civilian oversight, including the possibility of subpoena power. Daniel Garcia Rodriguez, a United Fort Worth founder, said the oversight should act like a balance of power between residents and those with a badge.
“We feel that regular everyday citizens don’t have a voice when it comes to police issues,” he said. “We’re the ones being policed but we don’t have an opportunity to be a part of that discussion about what policy looks like.”
The task force and its recommendations were born out of the 2016 arrest of Jacqueline Craig, who was arrested with her two daughters in December 2016 after she had called police to resolve a dispute with a neighbor. The confrontation that ensued was captured on video, which sparked outrage and complaints of excessive force.
Civilian oversight immediately received push back.
In its report the task force said a review board would likely receive resistance from police “due to the fear of civilians policing police and FWPD due to the newness of this program.”
Manny Ramirez, president of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, questioned the effectiveness of a review board, calling it “cookie cutter.” He criticized tying community engagement with a review board.
“If you want community engagement, we’ve got to make sure we have officers out on the streets, interacting with citizens,” he said, adding the city council and mayor already acted like a civilian oversight. “Adding one more piece to the system might cause more problems.”
Councilwoman Kelly Allen Gray, whose husband is a Fort Worth police officer, said she wanted more details about how this oversight would work. She pointed to the hierarchy of deputy and assistant police chiefs as evidence of oversight and leadership already in the department, and said the culture of City Hall should be addressed.
“We’re not addressing the culture inside these walls,” she said.
Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald was more open to civilian oversight, saying he was confident in his officers and his leadership.
“If it reassures folks in the community that they can trust us as an organization and can trust us as public servants, I open my arms and say ‘Take a look at what we’re doing,’” he said.
Cooke said details about the recommendations, which include redrawing council districts, efforts to improve access to health care and increasing employment opportunities, would be hashed over a series of work sessions as the 2020 budget is put together. The task force’s recommendations could cost as much as $3.3 million, with about $2.9 million coming from the city.
Council members urged expediency.
“I think the people have told us over and over again that they don’t trust us and they have an issue with a number of functions including police,” councilwoman Gina Bivens said.
Cooke cautioned that this was only the beginning of implementing recommendations.
“We’re not trying to solve all the issues today,” he said.
This story was originally published March 5, 2019 at 6:56 PM with the headline "Fort Worth urged to adopt citizen oversight of police department."
