Former Fort Worth police chief Joel Fitzgerald named top cop in Iowa town
The former Fort Worth police chief entangled in a battle with the city to get his job back has accepted a position in Iowa.
Joel Fitzgerald had been working as a deputy chief in the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, but the Waterloo, Iowa Courier Tuesday reported that Fitzgerald had been chosen to lead the police department there. Fitzgerald, Fort Worth’s first African-American police chief, was fired last May following a confrontation in Washington, D.C., with the head of the state police union during a memorial for fallen officers.
City officials have said Fitzgerald was fired because of his failure to exercise sound judgment and leadership. Fitzgerald, who is represented by Dallas-based attorney Stephen Kennedy, is one of three whistleblowers suing the city and has demanded reinstatement.
The lawsuit will go on, Kennedy said in an emailed statement. He expects a Dallas jury will take up the matter later this year.
In the statement, Kennedy celebrated Fitzgerald’s hiring in Waterloo as “symbolic for everyone in our country right now facing hard times and unemployment.”
The city of Fort Worth declined to comment.
Fitzgerald’s position in Waterloo, a city of a little more than 65,000 is pending a city council vote, according to the Courier. He would start June 1.
“Waterloo is honored to have had such high caliber police professionals, both internal and external seeking to serve and protect our residents,” the paper quoted Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart. “Dr. Fitzgerald simply stood out from the group based on his level of education, professional experience, and success in implementing community problem solving, the use of intelligence-led policing, and enacting evidence-based strategies to abate crime. He will be a bridge builder for our community.”
Fitzgerald testified during a hearing in Dallas that he had applied for more than 100 jobs but was blocked from consideration because now Police Chief Ed Kraus gave the ex-chief a general rather than an honorable discharge.
This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 6:19 PM.
