Fort Worth police union questions investigation into drugs found in officers’ locker room
Published: Wed, 03/08/23
Fort Worth police union questions investigation into drugs found in officers’ locker room
Star-Telegram stock photo
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
BY KALEY JOHNSON
MARCH 07, 2023 6:00 AM
Fort Worth police found a bag of drugs in a department locker room, prompting an investigation that the Police Officers Association said violated an officer’s due process rights.
In August, a bag filled with a crystal-like substance was found in the locker room at the Fort Worth Police Department’s South Division facility, according to a search warrant. Fort Worth police started to investigate where the bag of drugs might have come from. Police first brought a dog to the locker room, which alerted police to possible drugs near two lockers and a backpack that belonged to a specific police officer.
The Star-Telegram is not naming the officer because he was not charged with a crime.
The police department obtained a search warrant to search both the backpack and lockers. The Police Officers Association protested the use of a search warrant, saying that the police department did not need to obtain a warrant to search its own property.
Because search warrants become public record, the officer’s name would become public regardless of whether the officer was found to be connected to the drugs, the association argued.
No drugs were found in the officer’s locker or backpack, and the officer did not face any criminal or administrative actions. The officer is still employed with the Fort Worth Police Department, said Sgt. Amelia Heise, chief of staff for the police department.
According to a statement from the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, the association filed a personnel complaint on behalf of the involved officer to “internally investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the search warrant.”
Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez, who was the Fort Worth Police Officers Association president at the time the search warrant was issued, said the association was concerned about the officer’s due process rights. “The only thing that I’ll say is that the police officers in Fort Worth work incredibly hard,” he said. “They deserve to be treated with respect and deserve to have their due process followed.”
In the statement, the Fort Worth Police Officers Association said it has “serious concerns about why and more importantly how the search warrant was conducted by the FWPD Professional Standards Unit and the FWPD Special Investigations Unit.” When asked about whether the police department needed a search warrant to search the locker room, Heise said “investigators believed that a search warrant was the appropriate step to take due to the concern for possible criminal misconduct.”
In violation of Texas code, the search warrant was issued on Aug. 31, but was not returned until six months later on Feb. 22. When a search warrant is “returned,” it becomes public record. According to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, a search warrant should be returned no later than three days after the search warrant is executed.
The reason for the delayed warrant return is currently under investigation, Heise said.
Current Police Officers Association President Lloyd Cook declined to comment directly on the unusual timeline of the search warrant’s return. In regards to the drugs, investigators did not find any link between the substance and any Fort Worth Police Department employee, Heise said. The locker room is accessed by officers, other employees and people who are part of investigations that are escorted through the building, she said.