‘I’m really upset.’ Fort Worth council concerned by police oversight board proposal

A proposed community oversight board of the Fort Worth Police Department remains a work in progress, including whether it will have the power to review complaints against officers.

“I’m really upset,” District 8 representative Chris Nettles said during Tuesday’s council meeting. “That’s not what the community asked for; that’s not what we got from the Race and Culture Task Force.”

Nettles and other council members continue to have many questions and few answers. Among other issues to be decided are member qualifications, responsibilities, number of appointees and a name for the board. Another critical question that remains unresolved is whether people with felony records should be allowed to serve.

Police monitor Kim Neal said the proposed board, made up of a maximum of 15 volunteers, would be responsible for reviewing the police department’s policies and procedures before recommending changes.

The Race and Culture Task Force first recommended that a board of community members monitor police actions in 2018. The city manager later established the police monitor office to create criteria for the oversight board.

But the working group wasn’t able to reach consensus on many proposals, including whether a board member should be allowed to have a felony record.

“Things are not always what the records show,” council member Gyna Bivens said, referencing examples of residents being wrongly convicted or holding misleading records.

Nettles pointed to a time when he was racially profiled by police and an officer told him that he “fit the description of a burglary.”

Carlos Flores said he wasn’t “fully convinced” on allowing some convicted felons to serve on the board.

Council members Jared Williams and Elizabeth Beck seconded Nettles’ view on allowing the board to review encounters with law enforcement.

“There will be instances of alleged police misconduct, that will be of great interest to the community,” Beck said. “When it’s potentially a policy that we have in place that has created that situation ... those are the types of things that I think should be brought before this board.”

Neal likely will make another presentation to council establishing criteria for how a convicted felon could be appointed to the board. She added that the proposal allows for the board to review policies regarding officer misconduct.