Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker pushing for change following fatal shooting of TCU student
FORT WORTH (CBSNewsTexas.com) — New safety and security improvements can be expected in Fort Worth's West 7th entertainment district soon.
This comes after a TCU student was killed there earlier this month.
"Losing Wes Smith so tragically was personal to me," Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said.
Smith coached her seventh grade son's football team.
"Candidly, it's one of the harder things I've had to do as a parent...take my mayor hat off for a second first and having to walk through that with a 12-year-old boy is hard," she said. "We've really examined in the last week how do you ensure that one of your largest, most successful entertainment districts in our city is as safe as it can be for our patrons."
She says expect to see the following:
- More lighting
- A bar safety certification program that includes training for staff
- More off-duty police officers
- Customers screened with handheld metal detectors
The city council has also adopted zoning changes to require conditional use permits for new or expanding bars larger than 2,000 square feet.
"I've been really pleased...in the last 24 to 48 hours, I've met with bar owners. They're at the table willing to be better and at the same time recognize the city has stepped up in a big way as well," Parker said.
Bar owner Chas Taipale said the concern is not inside the bars, but outside on the streets.
"That's where the monitoring needs to take place the most and we're trying to do our best to have lighting, just no dark spots...and more personnel being aware as far as cameras...and preventive personnel on the streets," he said.