Police Misconduct Attorney Fort Worth – Two Fort Worth Police Department Assistant Chiefs are Demoted Regarding Leaked Video
Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald of the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) announced on Friday, May 19, 2017, that two assistance police chiefs have been demoted to captain in connection with the unauthorized leak of a body camera video that shows the controversial arrest that a white officer made of a black woman and her two daughters. Fitzgerald also said that he will recommend that one of the officers is bumped down further to sergeant. The other of the two will also be suspended for three days. The chief said that the decision was difficult, since both men were friends as well as colleagues that he trusted. The investigation into the leakage of the video, which went viral, has continued since it was uploaded to a public website on January 18. The reason for the investigation was because the video contained juveniles. Also, personnel files are confidential and are supposed to remain that way, according to the FWPD.
The leaked video was taken of a December 21, 2016, incident that has been the cause of widespread outrage. A woman in the neighborhood of Rock Garden in southwest Fort Worth called the police to report that a neighbor assaulted her 7-year-old son. Fort Worth police officers went to the scene, and that’s when the controversial police incident involving alleged excessive force occurred.
The footage shows the white police officer at the scene allegedly wrestling the woman who called the police to the ground. He also allegedly pointed a stun gun at her daughters. He then arrested all three of them. The officer was suspended for 10 days for what occurred on December 21. The charges were later dropped against the woman and her daughters.
The woman’s attorney pointed out that the core values of the FWPD seem clear, with one officer allegedly assaulting black women and allegedly falsifying documents getting a 10-day suspension and officers who break the alleged tradition of turning a blind eye to alleged racism, corruption and, and brutality being far more severely punished. The officers who have been demoted are both black, as is Chief Fitzgerald.
–Guest Contributor
smchugh
smchugh