FORT WORTH, Texas _ The city of Fort Worth will work with Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald regarding his commitment to the city after he applied for the top cop job in Baltimore and then withdrew his name from consideration, Fort Worth city manager David Cooke's office said Monday, calling the process "awkward."
Fitzgerald withdrew his name from consideration for Baltimore police commissioner Monday morning. The decision came as Fitzgerald's 13-year-old son faces a second brain surgery this week and after calls from the NCAAP for the Baltimore mayor to withdraw her nomination of Fitzgerald.
In a statement, Cooke's office said Fitzgerald would be given time to focus on his family.
"The City of Fort Worth has been very patient and supportive throughout this awkward approval process, with Chief Fitzgerald and the City of Baltimore," the city manager's office said. "When the time is right, we look forward to working with him to understand his desire to fully commit to the work here in Fort Worth."
In a statement, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh said Fitzgerald withdrew his candidacy to focus on his family. Fitzgerald's 13-year-old son underwent brain surgery Friday and was scheduled for a second surgery Tuesday.
"I will now focus on my child's next bout of brain surgery, and being home with family, my Fort Worth Police Department family ... and this awesome community," Fitzgerald said in a statement.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram contacted city council members and Mayor Betsy Price Monday morning regarding the chief and reports last week that elements of his resume were overstated. Both The Baltimore Sun and the Star-Telegram found he overstated some of his accomplishments in Allentown and Fort Worth, including reduction of the crime rate and the extent of body camera programs under his tenure.
"First and foremost, our attention and prayers are with Chief Fitzgerald, his son and family," Price said. "As Mayor, I believe this community and our police department deserve a fully committed Chief of Police, as Chief Fitzgerald has shown in the past."
Councilwoman Kelly Allen Gray said the city's focus should be on helping the chief as he and his family deal with their son's medical emergency.
"I would ask that we keep his family in our prayers," she said. "When they move through this trying season of their life we can talk about how we move forward."
Councilman Brian Byrd said he would continue to support Fitzgerald and that the chief's withdrawal from the Baltimore job "removed uncertainty about where he's planning to be."
"I'm looking forward to working with the chief in the new year," he said.
Asked about evidence that Fitzgerald overstated the reduction of crime in Fort Worth during his tenure and other elements of his resume, Byrd said Fitzgerald's work here has been satisfactory.
"I'm pleased with the response we've had in District 3," he said. The Las Vegas Trials neighborhood in District 3 has been the focus of city efforts to reduce crime. "I want to see more of the same all over the city."
Though the city council has direct oversight of a few top positions, including the city manager, the chief of police doesn't report to the council. The position is hired through the city manager and is overseen by his department.
For that reason, councilwoman Gyna Bivens said she would defer to the city manager about questions regarding Fitzgerald's position and resume.
"We need to be accountable and that accountability will come through the city manager," Bivens said.
Asked about the possibility that the chief inflated Fort Worth's crime reduction, Bivens said differences between the local crime report on federal data could come down to timing and how crime is categorized.
"I focus on my district where we did have a reduction in crime. Now it seems to be trickling back up," she said. "I think it's pretty fluid and depends on that moment in time."
Fitzgerald, in his resume, described "steep decreases" in Fort Worth's crime rate, but that assessment appears to be rosier than what federal data show.
Overall crime dropped 5.5 percent and the rate for serious offenses fell 8 percent from 2015 to 2017, the most recent year data is available, according to Fort Worth crime reports. But FBI data show that decline was fueled largely in decreases in thefts and burglaries. Crime rate data from 2016 and 2017, the two full years of Fitzgerald's tenure, show overall violent crime rose about 6 percent, the homicide rate was up 9 percent and aggravated assaults increased almost 8 percent. Data for 2018 has not been released.
