Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia said officers were “wrong” in how they described the limits of lawful speech during a viral confrontation with Christian street preachers outside Trinity Pride Fest. He also said the department has begun First Amendment refresher training across its ranks.
Garcia addressed the June 27 encounter during an interview with WFAA on Monday. The Dallas Express first published video showing officers warning street preachers Richard Penkoski and David Grisham about potentially “offensive” speech. Police later cited Grisham for disorderly conduct related to noise after he used a bullhorn.
“The biggest issue that I have is just the conversations and the way that we were describing what is lawful, what is not lawful,” Garcia told WFAA.
“When we’re right, we’re right, and when we’re wrong, we’re wrong,” Garcia said. “There certainly was a better way to have that communication, and we were wrong in the manner in which we communicated that. Certainly, we’re going to take accountability for it.”
Garcia’s acknowledgment focused on how officers explained the limits of lawful speech. The department has continued to defend the separate noise-related citation.
Department-wide training underway
Garcia said the department’s command staff has completed First Amendment refresher courses. Sergeants and officers will receive the training next.
“We just trained up our command staff again with refresher courses. We’re going to be training our sergeants. We’re going to be training our officers,” Garcia said.
FWPD previously told The Dallas Express that an officer involved in the encounter made “certain statements that were not accurate.” The department said the City of Fort Worth Law Department would provide additional First Amendment instruction to officers and recruits.
The department has maintained that officers cited Grisham because he continued using a bullhorn after businesses complained about amplified noise, not because of the preachers’ message.
“At no time did officers prevent any individuals from expressing their views,” FWPD previously said. “Officers told the individuals they could continue exercising their rights without using an amplification device.”
Attorney calls citation baseless
Attorney C.J. Grisham, who represents David Grisham, said Garcia’s acknowledgment does not resolve the separate citation.
“They have already violated their rights,” Grisham told WFAA.
“It doesn’t meet the noise violation ordinance in any way whatsoever,” he added. “So, just on its face, the charge is baseless.”
The encounter also drew the attention of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon.
“Troubling. ✍🏽 Our @CivilRights team is on it,” Dhillon wrote July 10 while reposting video of the encounter.
Dhillon did not say whether the Department of Justice had opened a formal investigation.
Provided by Dallas Express
