The Fort Worth Police Department Expert Review Report

By The Expert Review Panel

The concerns identified in this report, though not unique, are serious and will require significant attention by the Department’s leadership and the City. There is important learning from the reforms being undertaken by other agencies for Fort Worth as it continues its efforts to operate according to its stated values and policies. The Department has many characteristics of a modern, professional police department. The leadership of the Department revised its policies and procedures in an effort to conform to nationally recognized best practices. In place are the basic structures, accountability committees, and review processes that one would expect in a department of its size. It has built a new academy and converted its training curriculum away from a military style boot camp to a scenario and classroom-based academic setting. Investments in technology have given managers the tools necessary to effectively and efficiently hold officers accountable to policy and law, as well as to identify and address gaps in policy, training, supervision, or widespread practices. Both the Department’s and the City’s leadership have taken steps to create legitimacy in all of Fort Worth’s communities. …. However, the actual experience of some members of the community, especially people of color and those in low-income neighborhoods, is very different. Daily encounters are far too often characterized by a “command and control” approach to policing that leads to avoidable uses of force and creates tension with residents who encounter police officers. The failure to use effective de-escalation techniques continues to be a significant issue that has increased mistrust. Accountability for aggressive police tactics is frequently anemic or ineffective and can place form over substance, missing both individual and systemic problems. Compounding the issue, the Panel heard reports from supervisors in the Department that middle managers were discouraged from raising issues unless there had been a complaint or a public outcry.

Fort Worth, TX: Expert Review Panel, 2022. 97p.