Lawyers for the city of Fort Worth reach proposed settlement with ex-police chief

The city of Fort Worth’s legal battle with former police chief Joel Fitzgerald may be coming to an end.

Fitzgerald’s attorney, Stephen Kennedy of Dallas, acknowledged the existence of a proposed settlement, in response to an emailed inquiry from the Star-Telegram.

The agreement also includes former IT workers William Birchett and Roland Burke, who sued the city for wrongful termination after they reported concerns about corruption and compliance with cyber security procedures involving an FBI database.

A Dallas Jury awarded Burke more than $1 million in April over his wrongful termination case, however, the city still had the opportunity to appeal.

Birchett’s case was slated to start July 22 before the proposed settlement agreement.

“With these three agreements, all involved can move forward in a positive way,” Kennedy wrote in a statement.

“As the philosopher Epictetus said, ‘We cannot control the external events around us, but we can control our reactions to them,’ ” he said.

Kennedy’s statement did not provide details and he declined to comment further on the case.

“City of Fort Worth staff intends to discuss the possibility of a settlement with the City Council during an executive session in August,” spokesperson Reyne Telles wrote in an email to the Star-Telegram.

The City Council will have to vote on whether to accept the settlement, which could come as early as the 6 p.m. meeting on Aug. 13.

Fort Worth has allocated $2 million to fighting Fitzgerald’s case.

Fitzgerald was hired as Fort Worth’s police chief in 2015, however an “increasing lack of good judgment,” his mismanagement of the police department’s budget and his relationships with other city department heads led to his firing in May 2019, according to a letter from City Manager David Cooke.

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

Fitzgerald has pointed to the fact that his firing came hours before he was scheduled to meet with federal investigators over concerns the city had violated the Criminal Justice Information Systems Act. He alleged city employees lied about the city being in compliance with regulations needed to access a federal law enforcement database, and that the employees destroyed evidence to cover it up.

Fitzgerald unsuccessfully sued to stop the city from hiring his replacement . He now works as the chief of police and emergency management for the Regional Transportation District in Denver.