City manager: New Fort Worth police chief offered ‘fresh face’

A day after announcing Fort Worth’s new police chief, city manager David Cooke called Joel Fitzgerald a “fresh face” who stood out among a strong group of finalists.

Fitzgerald, who is poised to become Fort Worth’s first African-American police chief, was Cooke’s selection after a nine-month search. The Allentown, Pa., chief will replace Jeffrey Halstead, who stepped down in January to start his own consulting business.

“My thinking was, do you bring up an insider, or do you bring in an outsider and see how they can put their stamp on the department?” Cooke told the Star-Telegram Thursday. “I chose the outsider who can bring a fresh perspective.”

He was chosen over five other finalists, two of whom are current Fort Worth assistant chiefs with more than 20 years of experience in the department: Kenneth Dean and Abdul Pridgen.

Fitzgerald’s salary will be $205,000, Cooke said. Halstead made $170,384 in 2014. According to the Allentown Morning Call, Fitzgerald makes $139,000 annually in his current job.

The council is expected to vote on a resolution to appoint Fitzgerald on Tuesday, and he’ll begin work in Fort Worth Oct. 19.

Sgt. Roy Hudson, president of the Fort Worth Black Law Enforcement Association, said in a prepared statement that his group has “every confidence that Chief Fitzgerald possesses the character, expertise and knowledge necessary” to guide the department.

While Fitzgerald’s experience has been at smaller departments — Allentown has around 200 officers, while Fort Worth has more than 1,500 — he started his career with the Philadelphia Police Department in 1992.

Cooke had to consider whether Fitzgerald could make the jump as chief.

“Not many people are going to come from a city as large as Fort Worth and have been a chief,” Cooke said. “But at the same time, he spent extensive time in Philly. Was he a chief? No. But I think he’ll understand the dynamics of a large organization.”

As a candidate, Fitzgerald presented a balance, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said.

“I like the fact that he’s had a broad range of experience,” Price said. “He’s got an extensive background in community policing.”

Fitzgerald emphasized his focus on community policing during an interview Wednesday. In Allentown, he established a youth police academy and put officers on bicycles in neighborhoods.

But also on his watch, at least eight lawsuits alleging police misconduct were filed against the department in the last year, the Morning Call reported.

Bert Williams, a Fort Worth city council member who lives in Stop Six in east Fort Worth, said Fitzgerald’s success will hinge on whether his way of community policing can be translated to establishing trust with residents.

“I want to have more community stations with officers who are out here in the community,” Williams said. “Sometimes the only image that some of the kids get is that the police are their enemies, not their friends.”

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 4:15 PM with the headline "City manager: New Fort Worth police chief offered ‘fresh face’."