FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF)- More information is coming out about why Fort Worth’s Former Police Chief was fired. Former Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald and his attorney Stephen Kennedy have been fighting with Fort Worth City Hall in an effort to get Fitzgerald’s job back. A motion filed by Kennedy states Fitzgerald was fired just an hour before a scheduled meeting with agents about corruption within Fort Worth City Hall. the motion says Fitzgerald had a witness statement from an the City’s Senior IT Programmer who said the city was destroying digital data including instant messages of two employees in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act and federal law governing access to the FBI criminal database. Fitzgerald says its a crime for the city to deliberately destroy public records.
The letter states Fitzgerald planned to arrest these employees and issue warrants for the digital files that were altered. The city fired Fitzgerald earlier this year for alleged misconduct at a police event in Washington, among other things.
The city released a statement:
“The attorney representing Joel Fitzgerald in his lawsuit against the City looks for any opportunity to promote his client’s case in the media. The City will address the legal and factual matters raised by Mr. Fitzgerald and his attorney through the court filings and the court process. The City disagrees with the allegations as set forth by Mr. Fitzgerald, is fully prepared to defend itself against this lawsuit, and stands behind the decision to terminate Mr. Fitzgerald’s employment. The City continues to maintain that it acted appropriately within the bounds of the law. Because this is in litigation, we won’t be commenting on any specifics related to Fitzgerald’s case against the city.”
– City of Fort Worth
Letter from Fort Worth’s Senior IT Programmer:
