Report: There is a 'concerning pattern' of use of force by Fort Worth police
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Police officers in Fort Worth are making tactical errors, failing to de-escalate conflicts and using unauthorized force, according to a review of the department by police reform experts.
The panel found what it called a "concerning pattern" of use of force by officers, and that in a review of more than 200 cases the behavior was often tolerated by command staff.
The report highlights a domestic violence call where a man was given one-second warning before he was shot with a Taser, because he gave "facial clues" he might not follow commands.
Officers taking a woman being taken into custody for mental health treatment tased her border collie, then chased her in her own backyard and tased her, "despite the fact that she posed a threat to no one," according to the report.
During a high-speed chase, two officers ignored instructions to stay back, then fired guns through their windshields, including one who emptied three magazine, a total of 58 rounds, "with total disregard to innocent third parties."
The city commissioned the report in November 2019, after then-officer Aaron Dean shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson the month before.
A preliminary first phase of the study released in July 2020, noted officers were not consistently following policies to avoid force.
The report notes that police took at least a dozen steps after that first round of findings. They included eliminating no-knock warrants, expanding the number of officers on crisis intervention teams, and launched an early intervention system to try to identify potential problem officers. However, it didn't appear to significantly change the behavior of officers on the street, or the experience of residents when they interacted with police.
"In a significant number of cases we saw officers initiate contact with the person using profanity, using aggressive language, initiating contact in a way that would escalate the situation versus de-escalate," said Dr. Theron Bowman, a former police chief in Arlington and one of the lead consultants on the report.
Bowman and Dr. Alex del Carmen, the other lead on the report were also complimentary of the city for opening itself up to review, while cautioning not to let the reform process stop with the receipt of the final report.
Police chief Neil Noakes said he would return next month to update city leaders on actions the department is taking to respond to the report's findings, followed by quarterly updates.
