Judge made right call in freeing Fort Worth to move ahead with police changes
Editor’s note: Updated Thursday afternoon to reflect judge’s ruling.
Wednesday marked exactly six months since Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke fired Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald. They, the mayor, Fitzgerald’s interim replacement, and other city and police officials have commemorated the occasion with a multi-day reunion in a Dallas courtroom.
The hearing, part of Fitzgerald’s lawsuit against the city alleging wrongful termination, was for Judge Gena Slaughter to determine whether she’ll continue to block Fort Worth from searching for and hiring a permanent replacement. She decided Thursday that the city could proceed, and it was the right call for a government with lots of work to do to improve its Police Department.
The proceedings publicly aired many of the issues surrounding Fitzgerald’s dismissal — and demonstrated how badly Fort Worth needs to be able to move on.
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Fitzgerald is ostensibly seeking his job back. But the hearings made clear, if it wasn’t already, that can never happen. Imagine the turmoil and confusion it would sow. Imagine trying to work for a boss who so clearly didn’t want you. Imagine trying to lead a department that knew you didn’t have the support of the city manager, staff and elected leadership.
If Fitzgerald was harmed, the city will have to pay him restitution. But even if he was, he’ll never be chief here again.
LIFT RESTRAINING ORDER
That’s why the restraining order against the city had to go. Fort Worth has too much in front ofit to be without a permanent department leader, whether that’s interim Chief Ed Kraus or a candidate hired after a robust national search.
Cooke, Mayor Betsy Price and the City Council are working methodically to address the issues raised by a summer full of police shootings, capped by a rookie officer’s unthinkable killing of Atatiana Jefferson in her own home. The city has hired a diversity and inclusion director, who begins work next month. Finalists for a police monitor position were introduced to residents Wednesday night. And national experts have been invited to evaluate Fort Worth policing.
It remains to be seen whether these steps will be sufficient. For many of the city’s aggrieved black residents, they are barely a start to fixing decades of police abuse. That’s why long-term, the Police Department needs steady, permanent leadership that can address training, response policies, staffing and other issues raised by the Jefferson shooting.
It’s important that reviews of the department are thorough but maintain perspective. Star-Telegram reporter Kaley Johnson recently found that, despite the passionate rhetoric of late, Fort Worth is about average in police shootings for a city of its size. That record can certainly be improved upon, though, and racial disparities must be addressed.
ANTI-CRIME SPENDING
The city must also decide soon whether to continue a special crime-control sales tax. For more than two decades, a special half-cent tax has provided consistent funding that has helped reduce the disturbing crime rates that Fort Worth saw in the late 1980s.
Leaders want to ask voters next year to extend the tax for another decade. It might seem like a no-brainer, but it crowds out other potential uses for a portion of local sales taxes, particularly mass transit. A booming Fort Worth needs to consider all of its needs and whether there are other ways to contain crime and address other priorities.
There’s much to be done. The city needs to move forward from a traumatic half-year since Fitzgerald’s firing. It’s good that Slaughter agreed to clear the way.
This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 5:05 AM.