The three finalists vying to become Fort Worth’s next police chief each said they want to build community trust while bolstering the police department and reducing crime.
However, they differed in their approach to police accountability with their first public comments during a forum Thursday night.
The finalists include Robert Alldredge, interim Fort Worth police chief; Eddie García, former Dallas police chief currently overseeing public safety as an assistant city manager in Austin; and Vernon Hale, a former deputy Dallas police chief who most recently served as assistant police chief in Maryland’s Prince George’s County.
Alldredge, García and Hale gathered at City Hall to informally meet with residents before answering questions during a moderated panel. The topics centered on trust, transparency and oversight within the department, staff retention and how to tackle homelessness across Fort Worth.
The evening was the public’s first — and only — chance to meet the candidates face-to-face before a hire is finalized. The department’s previous leader, Chief Neil Noakes retired in May after four years at the helm.
Before the panel began, residents told the Fort Worth Report they want a chief who could strengthen law enforcement’s relationship with the community, particularly in the underserved and predominantly Black neighborhoods of Fort Worth. Also top of mind for residents in attendance were officers’ mental health, candidates’ commitment to staying in Fort Worth and a focus on curbing youth gun violence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13GQthSqCmY Alldredge, García and Hale were named as finalists July 15. City officials said they were pared down from a pool of 51 applicants from 15 states. A fourth finalist, Emada Tingirides of the Los Angeles Police Department, withdrew her candidacy after receiving a promotion in her hometown.
The role of police chief is hired by the city manager, who in turn is hired by City Council members. City Manager Jay Chapa has said he intends to name a hire by early September.
When asked their positions on police oversight and how they had worked with external advisory or monitor groups in the past, candidates shared differing levels of experience.
García said he’s worked with oversight as long as he’s been in law enforcement, and he sees it as a necessity. In Dallas, for example, he worked with the city’s Office of Community Police Oversight and volunteer Community Police Oversight Board.
“We are a profession that can legally take people’s rights away — we need someone to be watching us to ensure we’re doing it right,” García said. “I have no issue with that. And we have nothing to hide. When we’re wrong, we’re wrong. When we’re right, I’ll defend our men and women.”
Hale echoed García’s sentiment, saying oversight isn’t optional. He said he wants to assess what oversight Fort Worth currently has, learn its expectations and desires, and work to close any gaps.
“We have to ensure we have transparency. We have to create dashboards where you don’t have to do open records requests, you don’t have to call the chief and say, ‘What happened with this?'” Hale said.
Vernon Hale, former Dallas deputy chief, answers questions during a public forum with the finalists for Fort Worth police chief Aug. 14, 2025, at City Hall. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report) Alldredge noted the “infancy” of the Fort Worth Police Department’s oversight monitor, led by director Bonycle Sokunbi.
The city-staffed Office of Police Oversight Monitor was launched in 2020 at the recommendation of a race and culture task force appointed in 2018 to identify disparities across the city. Community activists have long petitioned for a citizen-led oversight board, which council members voted against in 2022.
“I trust (Sokunbi). I trust what she does,” Alldredge said. “It doesn’t mean we always agree, but the recommendations she has made, we have implemented some of those, and it’s been very positive.”
The candidates promised that, if hired, they’d work to strengthen existing police department-citizen relationships and build trust in communities that haven’t historically engaged with local law enforcement.
They each committed to hosting listening sessions across Fort Worth and to meeting residents in their own neighborhoods.
Fort Worth residents mingle with the three finalists for Fort Worth police chief before a panel Q&A Aug. 14, 2025, at City Hall. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report) García said he wants to get in front of issues residents have with the department before they grow.
“As a police chief, I want to know if something’s wrong with this police department before anyone else does, so I can fix it — and so we can fix it — making sure that we’re transparent with what we’re trying to accomplish in our neighborhoods,” García said.
Hale said he’s proven himself in his previous roles as someone who has sought out and found success in engaging with those who, historically, didn’t have good relationships with police.
He recalled one listening session where a man who had spent over half his life incarcerated approached him and told him he’d only ever hated cops until that session. He considers that moment of trust one of his proudest achievements as a police officer.
“‘In fact, I thought one day I might have to kill one,'” Hale recalled the man telling him. “‘But now, I found myself shaking your hand and hugging you all.'”
Alldredge said transparency and accountability are what distrustful communities want the most. He said he envisions “robust” engagement that includes cooking meals for residents and continuing to show up specifically in areas where police are working to build relationships.
“We need to be able to sit at the table and talk to each other, instead of sitting away from each other and talking about each other,” Alldredge said. “Because the only way we’re going to solve things is sitting at the table together.”
All three candidates said they are committed to hold the position long term if selected.
Since Fort Worth announced García as a finalist, some have expressed skepticism at how long he would stay. He left Dallas in 2024 after three years as chief, a couple months after committing to stay in the role until at least mid-2027. Then, he was named a finalist for the Fort Worth position less than nine months after starting as an assistant city manager in Austin.
Eddie García, former Dallas police chief, answers questions during a public forum with the finalists for Fort Worth police chief Aug. 14, 2025, at City Hall. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report) García said he wants the job because “at the end of the day, I was born to be a police officer.”
He said he was committed to serving Fort Worth, as his daughter lives in the city, and his mother lives in North Texas.
Hale, 55, said he would plan to keep the position until retirement at 60 or 62 — “Social Security at least.” He said if his relationship with the community and elected officials was still “mutually beneficial” at that point, he could stay longer, he said.
“I won’t be applying for any other jobs to be clear,” he said. “I’ll be part of this community. I’ll be living in this community. My priorities will be what your priorities are.”
Alldredge pointed to his 26 years with Fort Worth as proof he’s committed to the job. He said he loves the city, loves its leaders and “everything about it.”
“I wasn’t looking for this chief job whenever it came up. I wasn’t looking for another chief job. That’s not what I’m about,” he said. “My career is here in Fort Worth. That’s what my commitment has been.”
Each candidate cited past leadership roles throughout the night, including times they dealt with tense police-community relations, media scrutiny and big-city issues.
Alldredge, who has served as interim chief since mid-May, emphasized his demonstrated service to the city. He joined the Fort Worth Police Department in 1999 and served in various roles and capacities.
He said, as interim chief, he has already begun the work of a 30-60-90-day plan with a clear vision, meeting with community leaders, parole officers, police department staff and enforcement units.
“My true belief is, no matter the ZIP code that you live in, you should be treated exactly the same,” Alldredge said. “You should get the same level of service, and the call should be answered exactly the same way.”
Robert Alldredge, interim Fort Worth police chief, answers questions during a public forum with the finalists for the job Aug. 14, 2025, at City Hall. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report) García stressed how the top leadership role will not be new to him, as he’s already been chief in two major cities — San Jose and Dallas. Working in Austin’s city manager’s office, he said, he gained valuable administrative knowledge.
“Bringing those experiences, and those pressures, and those sleepless nights when the buck falls with you alone, and working with a team to have been successful in two other large cities … is helpful,” he said.
Entering a department and quickly learning what it needs is not new to him, García said.
Hale said stepping into the Fort Worth police chief role would naturally build on his experience as police chief in the smaller city of Galveston and as assistant chief in the county of Prince George’s. During those roles, he said, he learned the importance of a chief who listens and learns with those who live across the areas he serves.
“The police are the community, and community are the police,” Hale said. “So it’s not all on me. I’m 50%, and you’re 50%. And then we’ll do this together.”
The city invited residents to fill out an online survey after the forum. The candidates will spend Friday, Aug. 15, in interviews with city management.
Cecilia Lenzen and Drew Shaw are government accountability reporters for the Fort Worth Report. Contact them at [email protected] and [email protected].
