Fort Worth closer to forming police oversight panel
FORT WORTH, Texas - The city of Fort Worth is closer to bringing in outsiders for a top to bottom review of the police department.
Many members of a new police oversight panel have backgrounds in federal law enforcement and civil rights and have dealt with issues regarding use of force and racial profiling.
The panel will be led by two locally known professionals: Dr. Alex Del Carmen and Dr. Theron Bowman.
The formation of the oversight panel comes just weeks after a white officer shot and killed a black woman inside her home. But it has been in the works for a couple of years.
“To those people who said, ‘Hey, it took y’all two years to come up with these proposals and we're still just getting through the process,’ yes. It's been two years. That's true. But think about those of us who have been dealing with it for 40 years. How tired we are. How upset we have been over the years. I see progress coming now,” said Bob Ray Sanders, co-chair of the Fort Worth Race and Culture Task Force.
The city council was briefed on the goals and timeline for a new independent panel of experts and the ongoing process of hiring a police monitor. It was a recommendation by the city's Race and Culture Task Force.
The Fort Worth City Council was briefed for the first time on Tuesday about the third party police review panel.
Councilmember Gyna Bivens was pleased to see Dr. Bowman, a former Arlington police chief, as a team leader on the panel.
“He’s one person who I know, and I think brings a great level of integrity to that function,” Bivens said.
The city manager says the panel will focus on police interactions involving use of force and building community trust in the police department.
Tuesday's discussion became more passionate when talking about the ongoing process of hiring a police monitor. Interviews for the position start next week.
Councilmembers want to make sure each of their districts are represented during the interviews.
Three groups will conduct interviews. One group involves police, one will be run by the city manager and another citizens group.
Pamela Young with the Tarrant County Coalition for Community Oversight believes the process may cause a conflict of interest.
“The community cried out for years, saying we are being mistreated,” she said. “Now, we’re getting a police monitor, an independent police monitor, and now you’re wanting the police officers’ association members to vet this person?”
The city disagrees.
“At the end of the day, it’s my decision,” said Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke. “And I think I’ll make a better decision by getting all different levels of input from different parties.”
The contracts for the third party review panel will be finalized next week.