By Scott Nishimura snishimura@bizpress.net
Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead will retire Jan. 9, after six years with the department, City Manager David Cooke announced Tuesday.
Cooke, Mayor Betsy Price, and City Council members praised Halstead for reducing crime, his handling of tough high-profile problems, advancing the city’s Code Blue volunteer corps, implementing new technology, and pushing for the construction of new facilities.
Halstead “has never lost sight of (the city’s) goal to become one of the safest cities in the nation,” Cooke said.
Price congratulated Halstead on his retirement.
“Your decision is a big loss for us,” she said. “It’s a major gain for (Halstead’s wife) Kim. It’s a personal decision. We may not like it, but we can respect it.”
Halstead joked about some media reports this week that he and Price were feuding, and he confirmed one feud.
“To this day, we still have a bitter feud,” he said. “She is an avid road biker, and I’m an avid mountain biker. We are just not going to see eye to eye.”
Halstead said he will remain in Fort Worth and retire to a consulting business he started earlier this year. He said the idea for the consulting business was spawned by requests from other police departments for advice on best practices.
Cooke said the city will name an interim police chief at next week’s city council meeting and will conduct a national search to be undertaken by a search firm.