Dallas
Fired Fort Worth police chief calls his termination invalid, demands public hearing
An attorney for fired Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald says the chief was improperly terminated by the city and is demanding a public hearing on the matter.
Stephen Kennedy, who is representing Fitzgerald in a whistleblower lawsuit filed against the city of Fort Worth, sent a letter to Fort Worth City Attorney Sarah Fullenwider on Thursday, demanding the hearing and alleging that Fitzgerald was improperly terminated and denied due process.
In a reply sent by Fullenwider to Kennedy and shared with the Star-Telegram, the city attorney responded that “Mr. Fitzgerald’s termination is final.”
Under the Fort Worth’s City Charter, Kennedy wrote in his letter to Fullenwider, only the city manager can fire a director and the director is entitled to a public hearing before the decision to terminate is finalized.
Fitzgerald is demanding the city reverse his termination pending a public hearing, a vote by the City Council regarding whether he should be terminated and “all salary and benefits lost during the time of his improper termination.”
In a news release about the letter, Kennedy states the City Charter must be followed and enforced like any other law on the books.
“Police officers expect and demand that citizens of Fort Worth follow City Ordinances on a daily basis and, if they do not, they get arrested,” Kennedy states. “The same logic applies to the City Council, City Manager, and the City Attorney.”
In her response letter, Fullenwider said Fitzgerald failed to “timely invoke his rights “ under the Fort Worth City Charter.
“Furthermore, the authority to appoint and remove directors is vested solely with the City Manager, and the City Council is not authorized to render the type of relief you are requesting on behalf of your client,” she wrote.
Fullenwider also pointed out in her letter that a successor chief has been appointed and was approved by the City Council on May 28.
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The 21-year-old son of a Dallas ISD trustee was shot and killed Thursday morning in east Oak Cliff, officials said.
Christopher Whitfield Johnson was shot about 1:30 a.m. in the 3600 block of Utah Avenue, just off Overton Road, police said. He was found in the street with a gunshot wound in the chest.
Whitfield was taken to Methodist Dallas Medical Center, where he died.
Authorities say he’s the son of Maxie Johnson, a Baptist pastor who represents West Dallas, Oak Lawn, Uptown and much of south Oak Cliff on the school board.
“My colleague Maxie Johnson is the epitome of a great father — one who has put his heart and soul into raising his children,” said Miguel Solis, a fellow school trustee and former mayoral candidate. “My heart breaks for him and his family.
Whitfield’s mom called 911 after a friend of the family knocked on her door to tell her that her son had been shot.
Dallas police had no leads or suspects but said that part of town was a trouble spot for gang-related crime.
“We constantly deploy personnel in that area,” Dallas police Maj. Danny Williams said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Whitfield’s mother lives near the street where he was found, Williams said.
The 9-year-old Dallas girl who was shot in gang-related gunfire this week was killed by accident during a feud between two rappers, according to police.
Dallas police said in a news release Thursday that Tyrese Simmons, a 19-year-old rapper, is the main suspect in the death of 9-year-old Brandoniya Bennett. Simmons has turned himself in, CBS DFW reports.
Simmons went to an apartment building on Munger Avenue in Old East Dallas around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday to confront someone, but the person would not come out, according to police — so Simmons “circled around to the back of the apartment complex and opened fire on the wrong apartment, fatally striking Brandoniya who was inside at the time.”
According to police, the gunman and intended target “used social media to disparage” one another in an argument that “ultimately led to the shooting.” Police described Simmons as upset over a rival’s “diss” track, according to CBS DFW. The TV station reported that Brandoniya “was simply sitting on her couch when she was stuck by a bullet in the head.” Police said the girl had nothing to do with either rapper, FOX 4 reports.
The shooting proved fatal despite the efforts of police, firefighters and witnesses to rush Brandoniya for medical care, according to CBS. Brandoniya was pronounced dead at Baylor Hospital, police said.
“This is a baby,” said Lakeitha Washington, a friend of the victim’s mother, according to KTVT. “This is crazy; this is beyond crazy.”
Authorities got emotional speaking of the girl’s death, according to FOX 4.
“Those are the people that don’t think about safety because — as adults, as parents, as police officers — we’re supposed to make them safe. As community leaders, we’re supposed to make them safe,” said Maj. Danny Williams, per FOX 4. “She was sitting in her house. She felt safe.”
Detectives said the shooting was gang-related.
Williams asked for anyone with information in the case to come forward, the Dallas Morning News reported.
“She was 9 years old. She would have started school today,” Williams said at a press conference. “She got her nails done yesterday.”
UPDATED: August 14, 2019 1:15 PM – Dallas police say Tyrese Simmons, 19, is the suspect in the gang-related shooting death of Brandoniya Bennett. Witnesses told police a rap battle in front of the little girl’s apartment lead to the violence.
A 9-year-old girl was shot and killed in the 3500 block of Munger Avenue in Dallas on Wednesday.
It happened at an apartment complex around 5:30 p.m.
Police said someone fired a gun into the wrong apartment.
Police have determined the shooting was gang-related.
Police say the suspects came to an apartment looking for a tenant inside.
When the tenant refused to come out, suspects went around to the back of the building.
One of the suspects fired a shot into the wrong apartment, striking the young girl, police said.
Police said they are searching for the suspects.
Lakeitha Washington told CBS 11 she is best friends with the deceased child’s mother.
“I was praying for better news,” Washington said. “This is a baby. This is crazy. This is beyond crazy messed up.”
Anyone with information regarding this deadly shooting, can call Dallas Police Homicide at 214-671-3584.
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