Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald and his top aides wanted to hire several officers from other departments who did not meet certain licensing requirements and then retaliated against a sergeant and a lieutenant who refused to go along with the plan, according to a complaint by the Fort Worth Police Officers' Association.
The grievance claims the two supervisors in the department’s Background Unit were transferred after they fought an order from top brass to move forward with hiring the new officers in September.
At issue is whether the officers hired from other departments should have “intermediate” licenses, which means they have more training, at the time they're accepted into the academy.
The association claimed Fitzgerald wanted to hire at least four officers who only had “basic” licenses – in violation of the contract between the city and the union.
“One of the functions of the POA is to ensure members can work free of intimidation or retaliation,” said POA President Rick Van Houten. “That’s what we’re doing here. We’re speaking up for our membership.”
Fort Worth has aggressively hired officers from other departments – especially Dallas – who seek higher pay and better morale. The "lateral transfer" class in September was the department's fifth.
The grievance said the applicants were given letters offering them "conditional employment" even though their background investigations "were not even near completion."
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In a statement released late Wednesday, the department said the complaint was under review.
“It would be imprudent to retort the POA’s allegations in a public forum,” the statement said. “However, according to command staff, there are factual inaccuracies contained in the grievance and, as part of the formal process, the city intends to address each claim.”
