After public, personal crises, hope for a reset for police chief

After a broken-off flirtation with another job, and a very public dissection of his career and conduct — and in the midst of a family crisis — Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald could probably use the community’s embrace.

It will help if he’s open to it.

After his son’s medical crisis, of course — during which our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family — a reset in relations would entail his being perhaps less standoffish. He was edgy already, but the edginess reached new levels after the racially charged 2016 arrest of Jacqueline Craig and her daughter. The chief’s perceived aloofness toward the episode, and his controversial 10-day suspension of the officer involved, only created more of a rift.

As part of a reset, we’d respectfully encourage the chief to consider that the media are not the enemy, and in fact can be a useful conduit to get the department’s story to the public.

Fair or not, somewhere in the past few decades, and especially in just the past few years, the job requirements changed for big-city police chiefs. Especially with racially charged incidents, police chiefs must be counselors as much as cops, must train an eye toward public relations as well as public safety.

This has not been Fitzgerald’s strong suit — and, in fact, it’s clearly a prime reason the NAACP Legal Defense Fund urged the Baltimore mayor to withdraw her nomination of Fitzgerald to lead that racially restive city’s police force. The organization pointedly pined for a police commissioner with a track record “for advancing effective public safety strategies in a manner that is fair and nondiscriminatory,” and who exhibits “a commitment to officer accountability.”

With a more community-minded, public image-focused response to the Craig affair, such concerns might never have gotten in the way of Fitzgerald’s job prospects in Baltimore. That blind spot has hurt his standing here as well.

Still, now that he has withdrawn his name from consideration for the Baltimore job, it may not be too late for the chief to improve his standing here at home. City council members in recent days have expressed support for his personal challenges and encouraging words for his professional future here.

“We look forward to working with him to understand his desire to fully commit to the work here in Fort Worth,” City Manager David Cooke said in a statement.

“I would ask that we keep his family in our prayers,” Councilwoman Kelly Allen Gray said. “When they move through this trying season of their life we can talk about how we move forward.”

“I’m looking forward to working with the chief in the new year,” Councilman Brian Byrd said.

Such amenable sentiments are coming not only in the aftermath of the indelicate dalliance with another job but also amid reports Fitzgerald oversold his accomplishments on crime and body cameras on his résumé.

The most important matter at the moment is the medical one the chief’s family must work through. In that, they have the moral support of their extended Fort Worth family.

Beyond that, it seems the city is willing to work with this chief if he’s willing to work with us.

It’s a new year — maybe a good time for a new beginning.

This story was originally published January 8, 2019 at 9:07 AM.