FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD) - The lawyer for the former Fort Worth police chief wants a judge to force the city to turn over documents and produce witnesses for depositions. Stephen Kennedy filed the motion Wednesday evening.
"We contend that the City's abject failure to produce any documents in this case demonstrates that the City is actively trying to hide evidence of its wrongdoing," Kennedy wrote in a statement.
In a motion, Kennedy says Fitzgerald was fired one hour before he planned to meet with the FBI to "produce evidence of corruption at the City of Fort Worth, Texas." Kennedy says Joel Fitzgerald had a statement from a city employee who said Fort Worth was destroying digital files.
Kennedy says Fitzgerald was preparing to arrest two city officials and seize computer files that would "implicate criminal conduct."
Fort Worth has said it would "vigorously defend" itself against any claims by Fitzgerald. City Manager David Cooke has said Fitzgerald had lost the trust of city leaders and the community.
When Fitzgerald was fired, Cooke released a statement saying Fitzgerald's behavior at an event in Washington D.C. brought into question his "judgement and leadership." Cooke also said Fitzgerald's application to become chief of police in Baltimore had brought into question his "commitment and leadership both inside the department and in the community."
A hearing is scheduled for August 28 in Dallas.
