FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF)- The former chief of Fort Worth Police may soon get his day in court.
Dr. Joel Fitzgerald’s Attorney Stephen Kennedy announced the Texas Supreme Court “slammed the door shut” on the city’s third appeal in the whistleblower case filed by the former chief.
Kennedy says Fitzgerald was fired in 2019 immediately before a scheduled meeting with the FBI to investigate corruption at city hall and he’s hoping to clear his name and get his job back.
“In response to this latest defeat, we expect the City will restate its position that Fitzgerald was terminated because of a fabricated incident in DC back 2019 and claim they want to proceed to trial,” Kennedy said. “Yet the City will oppose our motion for special trial setting and will likely use the pandemic as its excuse. We can social distance when we have the trial, the jurors can be separated around the court and witnesses can appear remotely. There is a safe way to manage this.”
Kennedy said this has had a negative impact on his reputation with the community by terminating him on stigmatizing circumstances and questioning his leadership.
“The Texas Workforce Commission previously found no credible proof of the DC incident, as did the State Office of Administrative Appeals a year ago,” Kennedy added.
Dallas Judge Gena Slaughter, who will decide the reinstatement issue later this year, “had a lot of questions about the City’s decision to terminate Dr. Fitzgerald, and it is time to get them answered,” according to Kennedy.
The city released a statement regarding the Texas Supreme Court ruling on the case, “We exhausted our appeal of that procedural issue to the Texas Supreme Court and now we will pursue in the trial court our legitimate defenses to Fitzgerald’s claims,” the city sent to WBAP/KLIF. “Because this is an ongoing legal matter, we won’t be making any additional statements at this time.”