A new team will proactively and regularly audit the Fort Worth Police Department to ensure legal, moral and ethical policing standards, Chief Eddie Garc铆a announced Tuesday.
Called a Constitutional Policing Unit, the initiative mirrors while leading Dallas鈥� police force to provide internal oversight and accountability. The Fort Worth unit鈥檚 creation marks the first major change to the department since Garc铆a .
鈥淭his is about strengthening trust and accountability within the Fort Worth Police Department and what we鈥檙e currently doing,鈥� Garc铆a told City Council鈥檚 public safety committee Dec. 2. 鈥淲e want to be leaders in law enforcement, not just locally, but nationally. We as a police department want to take a proactive approach into our practices and our policies.鈥�
The Constitutional Policing Unit will include three staffers, at least at first: a civilian who will serve as director; a police lieutenant to serve as liaison with the department; and a part-time, contracted criminologist in residence. Garc铆a said he expects to hire the civilian director in January.
The unit will inspect police policies, training, operations and internal controls through 鈥渟tructured reviews鈥�; track trends with monthly and quarterly data assessments; and develop and implement corrective action plans.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 just want oversight from the outside,鈥� Alex del Carmen, who will serve as the unit鈥檚 criminologist, told the committee. 鈥淵ou want to make sure that the organization itself is measuring the work that it鈥檚 doing and making sure that it is proactive, having the best policies and the research about what they鈥檙e doing.鈥�
The unit will work with the city-staffed Office of the Police Oversight Monitor, or OPOM, created in 2020 to hold the department accountable to residents. While the oversight monitor reports to City Manager Jay Chapa, the new unit will report directly to Garc铆a, the police chief said.
The monitor provides a reactive response to the community鈥檚 law enforcement needs and police concerns, but the Constitutional Policing Unit will provide a proactive, internal approach, OPOM director Bonycle Sokunbi said.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e now going to have a police department that can look you in the face and say, 鈥榃e know what we鈥檙e doing, and we鈥檙e doing it well,鈥欌�� Sokunbi told reporters at a press conference Tuesday.
The unit will certify that police are compliant with department policies and address guidelines that need adjustment, she added.
鈥淲e are doing that versus saying, 鈥業t鈥檚 going well because we haven鈥檛 heard anything bad yet,鈥欌�� she said.
Garc铆a, Sokunbi and Carmen emphasized that the proactive approach is intended to reduce operational, legal and reputational risks. It will help keep Fort Worth up to par with other departments across the country in implementing best practices, policies and technology, they said.
鈥淭his is the direction that any progressive police department should be headed in,鈥� Sokunbi said.
The office鈥檚 launch comes about two and a half months into Garc铆a鈥檚 tenure.
Before his hire, as the city searched for a new police chief, police accountability was a priority of many city stakeholders, especially when it came to officers鈥� interactions with communities of color.
Top of mind for some were , as well as concern over how law enforcement interacts with Latino communities given President Donald Trump鈥檚
Community pushes for citizen-led oversight have continued since 2018, when such a board was recommended by the city鈥檚 Race and Culture Task Force. That 25-member task force formed to rebuild trust between communities of color and police after the .
A citizen-led oversight board鈥檚 creation was 鈥� a decision supported by Garc铆a鈥檚 predecessor, Neil Noakes.
When Garc铆a was hired, he said he was but wanted to first speak with Sokunbi before issuing his own opinion.
Cecilia Lenzen and Drew Shaw are government accountability reporters for the Fort Worth Report. Contact them at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org and drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org.
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