Before the panel began, residents told the Fort Worth Report they want a chief who could strengthen law enforcement\u2019s relationship with the community<\/a>, particularly in the underserved and predominantly Black neighborhoods of Fort Worth. Also top of mind for residents in attendance were officers\u2019 mental health, candidates\u2019 commitment to staying in Fort Worth and a focus on curbing youth gun violence.<\/p>\n Alldredge, Garc\u00eda and Hale were named as finalists<\/a> July 15. City officials said they were pared down from a pool of 51 applicants from 15 states. A fourth finalist, Emada Tingirides of the Los Angeles Police Department, withdrew her candidacy after receiving a promotion in her hometown.<\/p>\n The role of police chief is hired by the city manager, who in turn is hired by City Council members. City Manager Jay Chapa has said he intends to name a hire by early September.\u00a0<\/p>\n Finalists for Fort Worth police chief differ on police oversight<\/p>\n When asked their positions on police oversight and how they had worked with external advisory or monitor groups in the past, candidates shared differing levels of experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n Garc\u00eda said he\u2019s worked with oversight as long as he\u2019s been in law enforcement, and he sees it as a necessity. In Dallas, for example, he worked with the city\u2019s Office of Community Police Oversight and volunteer Community Police Oversight Board.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a profession that can legally take people\u2019s rights away \u2014 we need someone to be watching us to ensure we\u2019re doing it right,\u201d Garc\u00eda said. \u201cI have no issue with that. And we have nothing to hide. When we\u2019re wrong, we\u2019re wrong. When we\u2019re right, I\u2019ll defend our men and women.\u201d<\/p>\n Hale echoed Garc\u00eda\u2019s sentiment, saying oversight isn\u2019t optional. He said he wants to assess what oversight Fort Worth currently has, learn its expectations and desires, and work to close any gaps.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to ensure we have transparency. We have to create dashboards where you don\u2019t have to do open records requests, you don\u2019t have to call the chief and say, \u2018What happened with this?\u2019\u201d Hale said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alldredge noted the \u201cinfancy\u201d of the Fort Worth Police Department\u2019s oversight monitor, led by director Bonycle Sokunbi.\u00a0<\/p>\n The city-staffed Office of Police Oversight Monitor was launched in 2020 at the recommendation of a race and culture task force appointed in 2018 to identify disparities across the city. Community activists have long petitioned for a citizen-led oversight board, which council members voted against in 2022<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI trust (Sokunbi). I trust what she does,\u201d Alldredge said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean we always agree, but the recommendations she has made, we have implemented some of those, and it\u2019s been very positive.\u201d<\/p>\n The candidates promised that, if hired, they\u2019d work to strengthen existing police department-citizen relationships and build trust in communities that haven\u2019t historically engaged with local law enforcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n They each committed to hosting listening sessions across Fort Worth and to meeting residents in their own neighborhoods.<\/p>\n Garc\u00eda said he wants to get in front of issues residents have with the department before they grow.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a police chief, I want to know if something\u2019s wrong with this police department before anyone else does, so I can fix it \u2014 and so we can fix it \u2014 making sure that we\u2019re transparent with what we\u2019re trying to accomplish in our neighborhoods,\u201d Garc\u00eda said.<\/p>\n Hale said he\u2019s proven himself in his previous roles as someone who has sought out and found success in engaging with those who, historically, didn\u2019t have good relationships with police.\u00a0<\/p>\n He recalled one listening session where a man who had spent over half his life incarcerated approached him and told him he\u2019d only ever hated cops until that session. He considers that moment of trust one of his proudest achievements as a police officer.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018In fact, I thought one day I might have to kill one,\u2019\u201d Hale recalled the man telling him. \u201c\u2018But now, I found myself shaking your hand and hugging you all.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Alldredge said transparency and accountability are what distrustful communities want the most. He said he envisions \u201crobust\u201d engagement that includes cooking meals for residents and continuing to show up specifically in areas where police are working to build relationships.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to be able to sit at the table and talk to each other, instead of sitting away from each other and talking about each other,\u201d Alldredge said. \u201cBecause the only way we\u2019re going to solve things is sitting at the table together.\u201d<\/p>\n Candidates emphasize their commitment to Fort Worth<\/p>\n All three candidates said they are committed to hold the position long term if selected.<\/p>\n Since Fort Worth announced Garc\u00eda as a finalist, some have expressed skepticism at how long he would stay. He left Dallas in 2024 after three years as chief, a couple months after committing to stay in the role until at least mid-2027<\/a>. Then, he was named a finalist for the Fort Worth position less than nine months after starting as an assistant city manager in Austin.<\/p>\n Garc\u00eda said he wants the job because \u201cat the end of the day, I was born to be a police officer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He said he was committed to serving Fort Worth, as his daughter lives in the city, and his mother lives in North Texas.<\/p>\n Hale, 55, said he would plan to keep the position until retirement at 60 or 62 \u2014 \u201cSocial Security at least.\u201d He said if his relationship with the community and elected officials was still \u201cmutually beneficial\u201d at that point, he could stay longer, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI won\u2019t be applying for any other jobs to be clear,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll be part of this community. I\u2019ll be living in this community. My priorities will be what your priorities are.\u201d<\/p>\n Alldredge pointed to his 26 years with Fort Worth as proof he\u2019s committed to the job. He said he loves the city, loves its leaders and \u201ceverything about it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t looking for this chief job whenever it came up. I wasn\u2019t looking for another chief job. That\u2019s not what I\u2019m about,\u201d he said. \u201cMy career is here in Fort Worth. That\u2019s what my commitment has been.\u201d<\/p>\n Candidates lay out strengths, lean on experiences<\/p>\n Each candidate cited past leadership roles throughout the night, including times they dealt with tense police-community relations, media scrutiny and big-city issues.<\/p>\n Alldredge, who has served as interim chief since mid-May, emphasized his demonstrated service to the city. He joined the Fort Worth Police Department in 1999 and served in various roles and capacities.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said, as interim chief, he has already begun the work of a 30-60-90-day plan with a clear vision, meeting with community leaders, parole officers, police department staff and enforcement units.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy true belief is, no matter the ZIP code that you live in, you should be treated exactly the same,\u201d Alldredge said. \u201cYou should get the same level of service, and the call should be answered exactly the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n Garc\u00eda stressed how the top leadership role will not be new to him, as he\u2019s already been chief in two major cities \u2014 San Jose and Dallas. Working in Austin\u2019s city manager\u2019s office, he said, he gained valuable administrative knowledge.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBringing those experiences, and those pressures, and those sleepless nights when the buck falls with you alone, and working with a team to have been successful in two other large cities \u2026 is helpful,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Entering a department and quickly learning what it needs is not new to him, Garc\u00eda said.<\/p>\n Hale said stepping into the Fort Worth police chief role would naturally build on his experience as police chief in the smaller city of Galveston and as assistant chief in the county of Prince George\u2019s. During those roles, he said, he learned the importance of a chief who listens and learns with those who live across the areas he serves.<\/p>\n \u201cThe police are the community, and community are the police,\u201d Hale said. \u201cSo it\u2019s not all on me. I\u2019m 50%, and you\u2019re 50%. And then we\u2019ll do this together.\u201d<\/p>\n The city invited residents to fill out an online survey after the forum. The candidates will spend Friday, Aug. 15, in interviews with city management.<\/p>\n Cecilia Lenzen and Drew Shaw are government accountability reporters for the Fort Worth Report. Contact them at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org<\/a> and drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755241631_383_hqdefault.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Goss-PoliceChiefForum-08.jpg\")
Vernon Hale, former Dallas deputy chief, answers questions during a public forum with the finalists for Fort Worth police chief Aug. 14, 2025, at City Hall. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Goss-PoliceChiefForum-03.jpg\")
Fort Worth residents mingle with the three finalists for Fort Worth police chief before a panel Q&A Aug. 14, 2025, at City Hall. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Goss-PoliceChiefForum-07.jpg\")
Eddie Garc\u00eda, former Dallas police chief, answers questions during a public forum with the finalists for Fort Worth police chief Aug. 14, 2025, at City Hall. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Goss-PoliceChiefForum-06.jpg\")
Robert Alldredge, interim Fort Worth police chief, answers questions during a public forum with the finalists for the job Aug. 14, 2025, at City Hall. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
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