DOJ Weighs Fort Worth Police Civil Rights Probe, Gives City 30 Days Over Speech Claims
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 15
DOJ Weighs Fort Worth Police Civil Rights Probe, Gives City 30 Days Over Speech Claims
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 15
Summary
A Monday DOJ letter asked Fort Worth for records within 30 days as it decides whether to open a civil rights investigation into police handling of Christian street preachers at a June 27 Pride event.
Videos posted July 8 appeared to show officers threatening citations for “offensive” speech and calling use of “sir” for a biological male a possible “gray area,” raising potential First Amendment viewpoint-discrimination concerns.
Fort Worth police said one citation stemmed from a bullhorn allegedly violating the city noise ordinance after nearby businesses complained, while acknowledging an officer made statements that “were not accurate.”
Police Chief Eddie Garcia said the department was wrong in how it communicated the law and is now conducting First Amendment training.
The DOJ requested speech-policy and training records, complaint files since 2015, and documents tied to the Grisham consent decree as it assesses whether further federal action is warranted.