Both a state senator from Cowtown and a spokesman for the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) have responded to a recent report from The Dallas Express on FWPD’s LGBTQ diversity and inclusion program.
“Fort Worth has one of the finest police departments in the nation, but it has to be based on merit,” Senator Phil King (R-Weatherford) told DX. King is a 15-year veteran of the FWPD, where he served as a captain in the 1970s and 1980s before serving 26 years in the reserves with another agency.
He said recruitment of competent police officers is important no matter what sexuality, gender, or race the recruit happens to be. When he was involved in recruitment, he said the department went to great lengths to find only the most competent recruits.
“When you put a gun and a badge in someone’s hand, you give them tremendous authority… and you want to be certain that they have the most mental, emotional, academic, and physical merit,” he explained.
DX asked if King thought there were risks in recruiting officers on anything other than merit.
“In what universe is there not?” he asked rhetorically.
King added that every police call contains “tremendous unknowns” and that the public must be certain that every responding officer has solid judgment, trusting that each officer was selected on merit because of the officer’s authority to “arrest, detain, and investigate.”
King’s comments were predicated on an April 2 report from DX that identified a section of the City of Fort Worth’s website titled “LGTBQ/FWPD Family” that reads, “The Fort Worth Police Department is committed to diversity and inclusion and creating a safe environment for all those who work, live, visit, or conduct business here.”
The website also features an image of several police officers holding hands and looking off into a rainbow over the City of Fort Worth. At the corner of the image, there is a now-disabled QR code that presumably redirects users to more information about the program.
It was unclear what the intended purpose of this program was, and neither the city, nor a department representative immediately returned a comment. However, such recruitment efforts have been part of Fort Worth’s police recruitment policy for at least a decade since FWPD used an openly gay detective as a spokesman to recruit gay police officers through local media stories in 2014.
On the morning of April 3, DX received a response from an FWPD spokesman.
DX asked, “What is the scope and budget of the Fort Worth Police Department’s LGBTQ/FWPD Family program, and how has it evolved in recent years?”
The police spokesman responded, “There is no budget for the position, and any promotional items that have been purchased were generously provided through other units’ budgets.”
The outlet also asked how the city measures the effectiveness of such diversity initiatives within FWPD, particularly regarding recruitment and community engagement.
The spokesman said, “We used a QR code to measure engagement with the recruitment flyer that would direct them to the link provided. … This is the only way we could measure the effectiveness of the effort since asking a person’s sexual preference on a job application is illegal.”
DX then referenced the California wildfires, which some believe were exacerbated by the actions of a Los Angeles fire chief who spent hundreds of thousands a year on DEI while essential fire preparation efforts languished.
DX asked, “As FWPD pursues LGBTQ recruitment and other DEI efforts, how does the department ensure that essential police preparedness—such as training, response times, and crime prevention—remains fully prioritized?”
The spokesman responded, “FWPD has not and does not prioritize any DEI efforts toward the LGBTQ community over their core mission of providing public safety.”
DX asked King about Texas Rep. Nate Schatzline’s (R-Fort Worth) bill, HB 2770, which reads, “A municipality that is determined … [to have a DEI program in violation of this proposed law] may not receive grant funds for a period of two years following the date of the determination.”
The bill has yet to advance past the introduction phase, and it is awaiting consideration by the House State Affairs Committee.
King said he had not read the bill’s text, but he supports efforts to stop DEI programs at every level of government. He noted that the Senate has recently advanced legislation, such as SB 689, to beef up bans on DEI in state institutions.