Former Fort Worth police chief fired from Denver transportation district

A former Fort Worth police chief involved in a $9.6 million settlement with the city is out of a job again this week, according to state records.

The records, obtained by a Colorado CBS television affiliate, state that Joel Fitzgerald was “terminated for cause” on Sept. 26.

Fitzgerald had been serving as the Denver Regional Transportation District’s chief of police since August 2022, according to Denver’s Channel 9 News.

During his tenure, the department expanded to 76 officers, according to a statement released by the transportation district in July.

The department declined to state the reason for Fitzgerald’s firing.

According to the CBS affiliate , he had been on administrative leave since July as investigators looked into alleged policy violations.

Fitzgerald was terminated from his position as chief of the Fort Worth Police Department in 2019.

He sued the city alongside two former IT employees, alleging that their firings were retaliation for whistleblowing on city misconduct.

The city settled the lawsuit in August, with Fitzgerald receiving a $5.2 million payout in exchange for dropping his claims against the city.