Court says Fort Worth should go to trial in lawsuits from 2 demoted police officials
An appeals court opinion issued Thursday said a trial and not a judge should determine whether city officials were wrong when they demoted two high-ranking Fort Worth police officials for leaking video footage of the controversial arrest of a Black mother and her daughters.
Capt. Abdul Pridgen, a former assistant chief, and Capt. Vance Keyes, a former deputy chief, each filed a whistleblower lawsuit in Dallas County district court in 2017, seeking reinstatement to their former positions and recovery of lost wages.
The city of Fort Worth filed a motion for summary judgment with the trial court that if granted would have stopped Keyes and Pridgen from pursuing their claims against the city, which was denied. The city, arguing governmental immunity, appealed the trial court’s denial.
On Thursday, a Dallas appeals court sided with the trial court, saying the issues brought up in the lawsuit were worthy of a public hearing.
“We always thought this appeal was a delaying tactic by the city of Fort Worth,” said Jason Smith, Keyes’ and Pridgen’s lawyer. “We want to hold the city responsible and make sure everyone hears the story about how Fort Worth retaliated against good cops when they tried to hold a bad cop accountable. This case has serious racial overtones for the city of Fort Worth that the public has a right to hear, and a trial will do that.”
The city continues to believe its position is valid, and may continue to argue those points in court, according to City Manager David Cooke.
“While this request for summary judgment has been denied, we believe the facts continue to support the City’s position that these officers were properly demoted by the former chief based upon the evidence linking these officers to the release of confidential information,” Cooke said in an emailed statement.
“To that end, the City is evaluating options for appeal. We recognize that the underlying case remains controversial, particularly given the current efforts to demand and legislate greater accountability, sensitivity and training for police departments across the nation. The City of Fort Worth remains committed to those goals as well.”
Smith said the city does not want its racial dirty laundry aired in public and will look for ways to further delay any trial in the matter.
“The city tried to say it was not a racial issue,” Smith said. “When the only two Black cops on the command staff said the white cop should be taken to court, the city demoted them because that did not fit the city’s narrative.”
Lawsuits have a long and tortured history
The lawsuits have their roots in the 2016 arrest of Jacqueline Craig, the arrest of her older daughter and the detention of a younger daughter, who are Black.
The cell phone video of that arrest went viral, garnered more than 1 million views and caused a cascading series of events that have yet to be resolved.
Craig said she called police because a neighbor had choked her son. The white officer who initiated the Craig family arrest, William Martin, was suspended for 10 days.
Martin’s behavior during those arrests led to widespread criticism of him and the police department.
The lawsuits said Pridgen and Keyes made “good faith reports” that Martin used excessive force and “improper racial motivations” in the arrests of Craig and her daughters.
Pridgen and Keyes also alleged in the lawsuit that they were met with hostility from then Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald, who was later fired. Fitzgerald has filed his own whistleblower lawsuit against the city, which is also pending in a Dallas court.
Fitzgerald said evidence from the internal investigation showed that Martin’s confidential files were downloaded on Jan. 18, 2017, to an external storage device connected to Pridgen’s computer and that Keyes was in Pridgen’s office when that happened.
The same files, Fitzgerald said, were uploaded to a public website “by someone outside of the Police Department.”
The court also disagreed on whether the city has proved that Keyes and Pidgen leaked the video, according to the court’s opinion.
“Although the City argues it conclusively established that Pridgen and Keyes were the source of the leak, there is no evidence that either Pridgen or Keyes gave the flash drive to Craig’s attorney,” the opinion says.
“The City’s basis for concluding that Keyes was involved in the leak was his presence in Pridgen’s office when Pridgen downloaded the files on a flash drive, not any evidence that Keyes created the flash drive or took possession of it.
“In sum, there is conflicting evidence regarding the City’s reasons for demoting Pridgen and Keyes, much of it dependent on the witnesses’ credibility.”
When credibility is at issue, that is a good reason to have a trial, the appeals court concluded.
Keyes is serving as a captain with the Fort Worth Police Department as a commander over the SWAT unit, while Pridgen left Fort Worth to become the chief of police in Seaside, California, according to police.
Fitzgerald has accepted a police chief position in Waterloo, Iowa.
This story includes material from Star-Telegram archives.
