The Fort Worth Police Department is responding to criticism by releasing what it's calling "significant portions of its pursuit policy to the public."
Early Monday morning, the police department posted information on its Public Safety Media portal, saying the release follows, "ongoing discussions about the Fort Worth Police Department's vehicle pursuit policy, and in the spirit of honoring the commitment to transparency, the department is providing significant portions of its pursuit policy to the public."
The city of Fort Worth is suing the Texas Attorney General to block the release of the police pursuit policy after a number of news organizations made open records requests to gain access to the policy.
"I stand by the decision to not inform criminals of our strategies. That said, I wholeheartedly believe in being transparent to our community who will now be more educated and aware of our policy and how it applies in various situations," said Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes. "Having a clear policy is important and procedures must be followed, however, let’s be clear that the culpability and responsibility lies with the individual who chose to evade."
As released today, the pursuit policy begins on page 106 and takes up five pages of the nearly 500-page Fort Worth Police Department General Orders.
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