Fort Worth’s Task Force on Race and Culture recommended goals in 2018 for the Fort Worth Police Department to increase the diversity of its employees.

Five years later, some goals have been met, as the department has increased its percentage of Hispanic and women officers. It has lost ground, however, regarding the percentage of its officers who are African American.

The Task Force on Race and Culture recommended in its report that from 2018 to 2023 the department increase its African American officers from 10.6 percent to 12 percent of the police force; Hispanic officers from 19.9 percent to 21 percent; and women officers from 12.8 percent to 14 percent.

Fort Worth’s population is 37 percent white, 35 percent Hispanic and 19 percent Black, according to the census.

The Task Force report noted that certain units in the department did not have any African Americans officers, including Homicide, K-9, SWAT, Criminal Intelligence, Major Case, and Robbery. The K-9 and Homicide units still do not have any African American officers, according to the department’s most recent Demographics and Diversity Report.

The March report provided by the department - the most recent available - showed that 9.9 percent of officers were African American (short of the 12 percent goal and down from 10.6 percent in 2018), 26 percent were Hispanic (surpassing the goal of 21 percent), and 14 percent were women (matching the goal).

Cory Sessions, a member of the criminal justice subcommittee for the Task Force, said that when the goals were set it was time for the Police Department to look in the mirror to not just see a reflection but address perceptions by some that the department mistreated people and was not held accountable.

Sessions says he understands diversifying the department is an ongoing process, and he wants to make sure the department continues to open its doors to diverse people so it reflects the people it serves.

“The diversity is down for Black sworn officers however, it is a constant task to try and simply maintain and recruit good officers of all backgrounds,” Sessions said. “ And I’ve had many conversations with the chief and his command staff, and I assure you that it is a priority of theirs and mine to ensure and increase diversity within the Fort Worth police department.”

Ty Stimpson was also a part of the subcommittee that issued the call for the department to better reflect the community.

“I just think having a diverse police force not only improves community relations, but I just believe it just makes your police forces that much stronger and better to where you have diversity not only in appearance, but in thought and how you go forth and how you present to the community,” he said.

Robert Alldredge, executive assistant chief of the department, said in a prepared statement that the department’s overall goal is to have its diversity reflect the diversity of the communities it serves. Even prior to the Task Force report, Alldredge said, the department had been deliberate in its recruiting to increase diversity.

“During 2020 through the pandemic and the social unrest that followed, most departments around the nation found it a very challenging environment for recruiting in general, and especially in recruiting diverse applicants,” Alldredge said. “ However, in Fort Worth we still had strong overall community support and a positive reputation that enabled us to keep meeting our goals.”

The Task Force on Race and Culture was established after the arrest of Jacqueline Craig in December 2016. Craig had called police to report that her son had been attacked by a neighbor, but she ended up getting thrown to the ground and arrested by an officer who responded. The unrest caused by her arrest spurred an effort to address racial and cultural inequalities in the city.

The Task Force was appointed in August 2017 and began community conversations on racial discrimination and disparities in the city. The disparities the task force identified fell under six general topics: criminal justice, economic development, education, health, housing, and transportation. A subcommittee was assigned to study and make recommendations in each area, and a seventh committee was eventually established to address issues related to governance.

The subcommittees created a report with a total of 22 recommendations to address inequities.