Ex-Fort Worth police chief’s lawsuit headed to trial after city loses appeal
The Dallas Court of Appeals denied the city of Fort Worth’s appeal in the former police chief’s case against the city on Wednesday.
Joel Fitzgerald, who was fired in May 2019, has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the city asking that he be restored to his former position, and that lawsuit is pending. In May 2020, a judge ruled that the discharge designation for the fired chief must be changed to honorable.
Stephen Andrew Kennedy, Fitzgerald’s attorney, said in a news release Wednesday that they are awaiting a jury trial in the case this spring, when a Dallas jury would address the whistleblower claims. Fitzgerald will seek actual and punitive damages from the city of Fort Worth, including the possibility of reinstatement, Kennedy said.
“Dr. Fitzgerald will not back down and will stand his ground with respect to his claims of corruption at the City of Fort Worth,” Kennedy said in the statement. “The City’s knowing and blatant disregard for both CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Services) regulations and the competitive bidding system involving the Dickies Arena parking facility will be addressed by a Dallas jury soon.”
Fort Worth city officials have consistently said that Fitzgerald was fired because he failed to exercise good judgment and exhibited poor leadership during his tenure as police chief, claims which Fitzgerald’s legal team publicly challenged in court. City officials could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
In July, the Texas Workforce Commission found that there was no evidence that Fitzgerald acted inappropriately during a police awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. , which some city officials described as the tipping point that led to his firing.
