FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF News) – Fired Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald and his attorney are weighing in on the fatal shooting of a Dallas woman by a Fort Worth police officer.
28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson was shot and killed early Saturday morning during what was supposed to be a welfare check.
It happened just before 2:30 a.m., when a neighbor called the non-emergency police line when he noticed her front door was slightly open.
“Yesterday, a different officer shoots an innocent woman in response to a welfare check call. In response we have been presented with blurred pictures of an alleged weapon, a five-minute press conference with no details from a lieutenant who to his chagrin, presented no solutions.During this time of crisis, where is the interim police chief? Where is POA President Manny Ramirez? Where is Mayor Price? Why weren’t they at Sunday’s press conference? Why was no substantive information provided? On May 19, 2019, when my department successfully rescued an abducted girl from a kidnapper, they raced to the microphone to seek credit and fame. Yet today, when our community needs them more than ever, they are noticeably and inexcusably absent. There is a vacuum of leadership and these individuals must be held accountable. They are, in a sense, accomplices because they facilitate a system that reinforces social stratification, inequality, and hostility. In just a few short months, we have become a city of hate. Our leaders must be held accountable.”
Fitzgerald was fired in May after a confrontation he had with another officer at a conference in Washington D.C. He and Kennedy said he was fired because he was investigating alleged corruption within the department.
Since then, the two have been fighting to get Fitzgerald reinstated.
