FORT WORTH, Texas - The Fort Worth City Council has approved a multimillion-dollar settlement involving its former police chief and his wrongful termination lawsuit.
The few people who spoke at Tuesday’s Fort Worth city council meeting said the settlement brings closure, but they still voiced their disappointment that it happened to begin with.
A five-year legal battle between the city of Fort Worth and its former top cop reached the finish line.
The city council unanimously voted to pass an agreement to pay $9.6 million in total to three former employees, including former police chief Joel Fitzgerald, to settle their whistleblower lawsuits against the city.
The settlement comes after costly legal battles involving Fitzgerald and former IT employees, William Birchett and Ronald Burke, who sued the city saying they were fired for retaliation for reporting city violations.
Fitzgerald says he was fired in 2019 right before he was set to meet with FBI investigators.
Attorney Stephen Kennedy represented the three former employees and was there during the mediation with the city.
"I think it's fair to say that both sides had disagreements over what the facts showed," he said.
Kennedy says Fitzgerald will receive $5.2 million from the settlement, Birchett will receive $2.4 million and Burke will get $2 million.
"It is an acceptable resolution and one that everyone found to be acceptable during the time of the mediation," Kennedy said.
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