FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF)-The City of Fort Worth has named Deputy Neil Noakes as the Fort Worth’s 27th Chief of Police.
This comes after a nation-wide search and community input. The city went with an internal hire with Noakes, a 20-year-veteran of the Fort Worth Police Department.
Noakes has led many community projects including a mentor program to prevent gang and gun violence among youth. He has worked with many operations within the department by serving on patrol, investigation, traffic and internal affairs.
“There’s a culture that we want to make sure we want to instill in Fort Worth about treating people with dignity and respect, culture of transparency, accountability and true community engagement and inclusion,” said Noakes. “It’s one thing to engage with someone in the community and another thing to include them in the process,” he said.
Noakes will be replacing Chief Ed Kraus, who announced his retirement in July.
Mayor Betsy Price released a statement on Facebook calling Noakes “the right leader at the right time”.
“Chief Noakes has proven to have a heart for servant leadership and a vision for rebuilding and strengthening relationships within our communities. He and the 2,400-plus sworn and civilian employees of the department must work with the community in a spirit of solidarity and partnership to continue to build on the foundations that Chief Kraus has laid,” said Price
Price said she looks forward to voting on his appointment with the other councilmembers at city council’s February meeting.
