The police chief of Pennsylvania’s third-largest municipal police department has been named as Fort Worth’s new police chief, according to a press release.
Joel Fitzgerald, who had previously served in Allentown, Pa., is expected to begin work as Fort Worth police chief on Oct. 19, City Manager David Cooke announced Wednesday. Fitzgerald will take the position after former Police Chief Jeff Halstead announced his retirement in November.
Fitzgerald has served in Allentown since December 2013. Before that, he was the police chief of Missouri City, Texas, from 2009-2013. He also had various roles in the Philadelphia Police Department from 1992-2009.
He has earned a number of awards, including the NAACP Presidents Award for Community Policing in 2010. Fitzgerald is also a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Forensics Committee and the Northcentral University School of Business and Technology Program Advisory Committee.
Fitzgerald also has a Ph.D. in business administration.
The Fort Worth City Council will meet on Sept. 29 to discuss a resolution to appoint Fitzgerald as police chief.