Police reform advocates tried to reach Abbott in Fort Worth. They were turned away
When supporters of Leon Reed heard that Gov. Greg Abbott would be in Fort Worth Tuesday — the very city Reed had just walked 200 miles from over the course of 10 days — they knew they had to do something.
Reed, a Fort Worth native and criminal law attorney for 16 years, had traveled on foot to deliver data and a letter on police reform to Abbott. His family and supporters had tried for days to reach Abbott’s office, making calls and sending emails, to let them know that Leon was on his way — with no luck.
But attorneys and activists who came out to the Bob Bolen Public Safety Complex on Tuesday where Abbott’s press conference was held, said that instead of being able to connect with the governor’s office, they were told to leave the property.
“It’s not that it did anything to me,” said Sara Vargas, a Fort Worth attorney. “It’s that you’re disrespecting this entire community that’s trying to voice to you their concerns. You’re disrespecting this man’s journey and sacrifice.”
After arriving at the Bob Bolen Complex around 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Vargas, who helped Reed publicize his walk and joined him for a stint in Fort Worth, had her temperature checked and explained she was there for the governor’s meeting.
“There were no police cars at the entrance. There was no signage saying that the facility was closed. There was nothing that would indicate that, ‘You can’t come in here,’” Vargas said.
She was led to the building’s multipurpose room, where she sat and waited, she said. Meanwhile, outside the building attorney MarQuetta Clayton was having trouble getting in. Vargas walked back to the entrance to meet Clayton to explain she was there with her.
“As I’m walking out of the multipurpose room, I noticed somebody with the mask from the governor’s office was following me,” Vargas said. “And I thought that was strange.”
When Vargas reached the entrance, staff and officers told Vargas and Clayton that the press conference was a private event and that they would have to leave.
Stevie Hix, a supporter of Reed’s and a Fort Worth activist who is the leader of the Facebook group “FW 4 Change,” said he was told the same.
Asked during Tuesday’s press conference if he would meet with Reed, Abbott said: “Well, obviously I’m not there today. And my schedule is in flux tomorrow. We’ll just have to see. If not, I have no doubt that I have representatives who would be happy to.”
A spokesman for the governor did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday night. Capt. Mark A. Barthen, a Fort Worth police spokesman, wrote in an email Wednesday that the press conference was not open to the public, and that at least one person who had entered the building was asked to leave “when it was determined they were not media or police with authorization to be there.”
“Anyone else that came into the facility to attend the press conference would have otherwise been told by the desk officer that it wasn’t open to the public and would not have been allowed to enter,” Barthen wrote.
Later, Vargas, Hix and Clayton said more patrol cars arrived, and officers started to screen who was entering the parking lot.
Meanwhile, the 15 or so supporters gathered on the sidewalk with some holding signs. Hix stressed that their intentions weren’t to protest, and that he would have rather seen Abbott stay in Austin and meet with Reed.
Reed, who said he had no direct knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the removal of some of his supporters, also said he believes that he and Abbott remain on one accord.
Abbott’s comments in Fort Worth seemed to focus on the actions of Austin city officials to decrease police funding and not a lack of commitment to police reform, which is why he walked to Austin to talk to the governor, Reed said.
Reed also wondered if Abbott had been fully informed by city officials of the issues facing residents, leadership and the police.
Neither Mayor Betsy Price nor her office made the decision to bar residents and some others from the press conference, according to an emailed statement from the mayor’s office. Price has advocated for community engagement and an increase in residents participating in local elections since taking office, the statement said.
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 5:05 PM.
