Fort Worth doubles down on fighting ex-police chief’s lawsuit with additional $250,000

The Fort Worth City Council approved an additional $250,000 Tuesday to fight a 2019 whistleblower lawsuit brought by former police chief Joel Fitzgerald.

The city initially allocated $250,000 to hire an outside law firm in February, but according to a resolution approved the council Tuesday, the firm, Carter Arnett, has only has around $60,000 left.

The council approved the resolution by an 8-1 vote with District 8 council member Chris Nettles dissenting. The city has now spent $500,000 to fight Fitzgerald in court.

Fitzgerald filed his lawsuit shortly after he was fired in May 2019. He alleged his firing was motivated by his work to uncover corruption in the city’s IT department.

The city has repeatedly contended he was fired for poor leadership and a confrontation a 2019 police conference in Washington. The confrontation came shortly after Fitzgerald was kicked out of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, a statewide police union.

However, the Texas Workforce Commission ruled in July 2019 there was no evidence Fitzgerald had committed any work related misconduct, and in May 2020 a court ordered the city change his discharge designation to honorable.

The city tried to prevent the case from going to a civil jury trial in Dallas, but lost its final appeal before the Texas Supreme Court in September.

Fitzgerald, who now serves as the chief of police in Waterloo, Iowa, is suing the city to get his job back and for punitive damages resulting from his firing.

Several members of the City Council declined to comment Tuesday citing the ongoing litigation.

Nettles did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

City attorney Leah Guzman wouldn’t comment on the case directly, but in an email to the Star-Telegram she defended Carter Arnett’s billing. She said the firm has reviewed thousands of documents and responded to multiple motions from Fitzgerald’s legal team.

Residents speaking at Tuesday’s city council meeting expressed their frustration with the city’s handling of the case.

“Either give the man his job back or stop spending our money fighting against a man who will eventually win,” said Kheri Hines, a southeast Fort Worth resident and host of the online show “Let’s Talk Fort Worth” in a phone call.

She urged the city to settle the case and questioned the amount of money it was willing to spend to fight what she argued was a lost cause.

Another resident, Gerald Banks, said in a phone call the money would be better spent on programs aimed at combating teenage homicides, which he called a “war in the streets of Fort Worth.”

“Help save our youth that will one day sit in your seats,” Banks said.

This report contains information from Star-Telegram archives.