BALTIMORE (WMAR) — Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald came in at a time when tension between the community and police were running high. He followed a chief referenced multiple times in the background report as racist and he was brought to the city to bridge that gap. But the report highlights a few major issues Fitzgerald handled that caused a further divide. One being the arrest of three woman in December 2016.
Facebook live video of the arrest went viral and captures a controversial incident that leaders say turned many against the department and increased the importance of community policing.
The victim, Jacqueline Craig, was mentioned over and over as Baltimore City council members conducted interviews into Mayor Catherine Pugh’s pick for Baltimore Police commissioner. In one of those interviews, Craig calls Fitzgerald “a bag of garbage.”
According to a report by WFAA, our affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth, Craig called police to report that a neighbor choked her 7-year-old son because he was littering. An argument escalated between Craig and responding officer William Martin, who eventually pulled out his taser and put Craig, her daughter and a third woman into custody. After seeing the video, Fitzgerald said he was disappointed and said Martin acted “rude.”
Martin was suspended for 10 days without pay and Fitzgerald said he would go through a tremendous amount of retraining.
“We’ve looked at this through a variety of lenses and I felt it was the right thing to do,” Fitzgerald told WFAA.
The punishment was too light for many who were calling for Martin to be fired for being “racist.”
Then, his body camera footage of the arrest was leaked. Hours after, Fitzgerald announced they were dropping the resisting arrest charges against Craig and her daughter, and two top officers accused of leaking it were demoted.
“Fitzgerald was alienated not only with the police officers but members, by large, with the black community. The morale on the police department is the lowest I've seen in 18 years,” Keyes said.
Several Fort Worth officials interviewed said Fitzgerald could have handled the situation better, especially the communication surrounding it. Others said he stood tall and pressed on through it, saying there have been many improvements since the incident, that community policing was a big focus of his, switching back to the beat system and creating a new rank to oversee the districts.
The demotion caused further backlash. Both officers denied any part in the leak, and many criticized Fitzgerald for demoting them while keeping Martin on the force. Vance Keyes, one of the officers demoted, called for Fitzgerald to step down. He was also interviewed by Baltimore City council members during their trip to Fort Worth.
“Someone who calls 911 shouldn’t end up at the end of a taser simply for doing nothing and I think that as you saw in the report, the officials, everyone there think it was handled in the wrong way but who are we to cast a stone here in Baltimore because we have handled situations in the wrong way too,” councilman Brandon Scott said.
In the end, Scott says they need to weigh all the information to make sure the right person is leading the Baltimore Police Department.
The question remains how will it impact the decision in Baltimore?
“Someone who calls 911 shouldn’t end up at the end of a taser simply for doing nothing and I think that as you saw in the report, the officials, everyone there think it was handled in the wrong way but who are we to cast a stone here in Baltimore because we have handled situations in the wrong way too,” councilman Brandon Scott said.
In the end, Scott says they need to weigh all the information to make sure the right person is leading the Baltimore Police Department.
The City Council scheduled two public hearings ahead of their vote to confirm Fitzgerald. Saturday, Jan. 5 at 10 a.m. at City Hall the public is invited to give feedback about the nominee and next Monday, Jan. 7 at 5 p.m. at City Hall the city council will question Fitzgerald. Mayor Pugh is hosting community meet and greets with Fitzgerald on Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center at 5700 Park Heights Avenue and 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Morgan State University’s Business Center at 4200 Hillen Road.
