Fort Worth Police Chief Announces Retirement

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes will retire from law enforcement effective at the end of May 2025, after more than 25 years of service to the city.

Noakes was appointed chief of police in 2021 by City Manager David Cooke. He began his law enforcement career with the Fort Worth Police Department on May 30, 2000.

Noakes, who recently became a grandfather, said he plans to spend more time with his family. City officials including Noakes, Cooke and Mayor Mattie Parker are holding a news conference at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 9, to discuss more details of his retirement and the transition.

District 3 Council Member Michael Crain commended Noakes’ service to the city and his ability to collaborate between neighborhoods, businesses, and city leadership, in a text message to the Star-Telegram.

“His commitment to building morale within the police force and prioritizing officers’ mental and physical well-being has been exemplary, ensuring they are well-equipped to serve our residents,” Crain said.

Council Member Macy Hill said in a text message, “Congratulations to Chief Neil Noakes on his well-deserved retirement. On behalf of District 7 residents, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for your servant leadership and unwavering dedication to the men and women of the Fort Worth Police Department and to our entire city. While we celebrate Chief Noakes and his incredible career, we also recognize the tremendous void his departure leaves in our community and the department. Please join me in thanking Chief Noakes for his outstanding service and wishing him well in this next chapter of his life.”

District 4 Council Member Charlie Lauersdorf said, “Chief Neal Noakes is the type of Police Chief that any city would be envious to have in its ranks. While I am truly saddened to see Chief Noakes go, I am beyond thankful for his 24 years of faithful service to protecting the residents and visitors of Fort Worth. In a day where policing has become that much more difficult, Chief Noakes proved time and time again that he was able to rise above politics and feelings, and always put the facts above all, while remaining sympathetic and understanding of the delicate situations in which he was faced.”

District 2 Council Member Carlos Flores called Noakes the embodiment of servant leadership.

“Neil Noakes led with respectful, compassionate, and faithful service to the residents of our city and police department,” Flores said in a text message to the Star-Telegram. “I wish him well in his future chapter of life and appreciate his wife, Kim and their children for sharing a husband and father with a grateful city and council.”

Noakes is a graduate of Tarleton State University and TCU. Before he was named chief in 2021, after the retirement of Ed Kraus, he had helped research and develop the city’s VIP Fort Worth program, which employs ex-gang members to stop gang violence before it happens.

Noakes previously served as a deputy chief over the south patrol divisions. In seeking the chief position, Noakes was candid about how police need to build relationships in diverse communities. He vowed to break through barriers between police and the people they serve and he chose to step up to lead that effort. And as chief, he said, “I want to be someone who will listen.”

“I believe we need innovative leadership and genuine engagement with the citizens we serve,” he wrote in his cover letter. “Officers must be inspired to reject the notion that societal issues are not our problem. We have a duty to address the generational neglect that has occurred in undeserved communities and become part of the solution.”

Noakes took over the department at a time of low morale across the country after the tumultuous summer of 2020, but he said at the time that he saw the opposite in Fort Worth, where officers were committed to being more socially conscious.

“Those are qualities we must continue to cultivate in our department and emphasize as we recruit, hire and train our next generation of leaders,” he wrote.

One of the most pressing issues Noakes confronted as chief was a surge in violent crime, part of a nationwide trend that started in 2020. Fort Worth saw a 26-year high number of homicides that year, with 112 slayings.

He rolled out the Fort Worth Safe initiative in May 2021, a more strategic approach that combined community policing with technology and data. Whereas police typically responded to violent crime by sending as many officers as possible into an area, the department aimed to have a less invasive presence in communities while solving crime more efficiently and building relationships with residents.

Within about two months, the department said it had made 139 arrests including 39 gang members, brought 103 new felony charges and seized 79 weapons.

Noakes’ retirement announcement comes as the City of Fort Worth is hiring a new city manager and Dallas also is seeking a new police chief.

Jay Chapa, who previously served as an assistant city manager, was named the finalist to succeed Cooke. The City Council will vote on whether to hire Chapa at its Dec. 10 meeting.

The city manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of city government, hiring department heads like the police chief, overseeing the budget and carrying out the policies approved by the City Council.

Cooke announced in July he would step down from the position in February 2025 after serving as city manager for over 10 years.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia announced his resignation in September to become an assistant city manager in Austin. Michael Igo was named interim chief in October.

This article includes information from the Star-Telegram’s archives.

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