by At a meet-and-greet organized by the city on August 14, residents of Fort Worth will get their one and only opportunity to meet the candidates for their next police chief.
The three candidates for the city’s top law enforcement position are Vernon Hale, assistant chief of police in Maryland’s Prince George’s County and a former Dallas police deputy chief; Eddie Garc, who was Dallas’ police chief from 2021 to 2024 and is currently an assistant city manager in charge of public safety in Austin; and Robert Alldredge, a 26-year veteran of the Fort Worth Police Department currently serving as interim chief.
At 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Alldredge, Garc, and Hale will take part in a community forum at City Hall.
The agenda is for a 90-minute moderated panel that will be livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube, and the city’s TV stream, as well as an hour for casual interaction with the candidates. There will be Spanish interpretation available.
This is the first time the hiring process will be open to the public. According to city officials, they have engaged community leaders in a number of private stakeholder engagement programs.
Assistant City Manager Dianna Giordano informed council members during a briefing on the recruiting process on August 5 that the candidates would take part in private interview panels with members of the police department and other community members prior to the forum.
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“That day is going to be very busy for the candidates,” Giordano stated.
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The city used an online survey to get residents’ opinions on the traits they would want to see in their future police chief before choosing the finalists. Following the community forum, attendees will have the opportunity to offer their opinions on the candidates.
On August 15, city employees will interview the hopefuls one last time.
The Fort Worth Report got in touch with Alldredge, Garc, and Hale to ask them why they applied for the job and how they would handle it if they were hired.
The candidates would not be replying, according to an email from Sana Syed, Fort Worth’s acting chief communications officer.
According to Syed, the inquiry would make sense if they were seeking public office and voters were choosing the next police chief. But in this instance, we do not consider this questionnaire as being in line with our efforts when the city manager appoints the police chief and a public meet-and-greet and input procedure is already in place.
Through an online survey that ended on August 8, city officials asked the public questions they would like to ask during the forum.
The selection of the next police chief will be made by City Manager Jay Chapa, and the appointment will be confirmed by a resolution passed by the City Council. It is anticipated that the hiring will be completed by early September.
Neil Noakes, who left in May after serving as head for four years, will be replaced by the next chief. They will be in charge of the 574 professional employees and 1,896 sworn officers in the police force.
The finalists, who were revealed on July 15, were chosen from 51 applicants, more than twice as many as Dallas sought when it was looking for a chief to replace Garc last year.
Emada Tingirides of the Los Angeles Police Department, a fourth contender from Fort Worth, left the pool after being promoted in her hometown.
Questions for the police chief finalists
A municipal official stated that the three finalists will not answer the following questions from the Fort Worth Report due to ongoing public engagement initiatives, such as the forum. What will be covered at the panel on August 14 is unknown.
- What about your background has prepared you most for the role of Fort Worth police chief?
- What drew you to apply for the job?
- What are your top three priorities if hired as Fort Worth police chief? Briefly describe how you would approach each.
- Police relations with communities of color remain a top concern in Fort Worth. How would you build trust with diverse communities across the city?
- How would you describe local law enforcement s role in enforcing national and state immigration policies, and how would you approach collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to carry out such policies?
- Some Latino communities may be reluctant to call police in emergencies because of increased immigration enforcement nationwide. How would you bridge that concern with the local need to address public safety?
- As Fort Worth continues to grow, what will your approach be to recruiting and retaining new officers?
- Would you support a citizen-led Police Oversight Board, as recommended by Fort Worth s Race and Culture Task Force in 2018? Why or why not?
- What vision do you have for the Office of the Police Oversight Monitor, and how do you foresee addressing community concerns around police oversight and accountability?
- Chief Neil Noakes placed a strong emphasis on supporting officers mental well-being. What efforts would you seek to retain, improve or implement to support officer mental health?
- What do you see as the biggest funding needs for the Fort Worth Police Department?
- Gun violence is a top safety concern in Fort Worth, and community leaders, including City Council members, have expressed a desire for a comprehensive gun safety program. What would your strategy be to lower growing rates of gun violence that disproportionately impact underserved communities across the city?
- How do you see the police department investing in new and innovative technology to ensure the department is advancing as it tackles crime across the city?
- The mayor and City Council members have prioritized reducing the increasing homeless population and illegal camping. As state and federal resources for such programs decrease, how do you view the police department s role in responding to homelessness, and how would you approach this issue?
Cecilia Lenzen works for the Fort Worth Report as a government accountability reporter. Reach her at fortworthreport.org/cecilia.lenzen.
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