Fort Worth’s top cop is retiring. Chief Neil Noakes has been with the Fort Worth Police Department since graduating from the academy in 2000. Meredith Yeomans has the emotional announcement.
What to Know
- Neil Noakes joined the Fort Worth Police Department in May 2000.
- Noakes was named chief in January 2021 to replace Ed Kraus.
- Noakes is expected to retire in May 2025 after 25 years with the department and four as chief.
- Noakes said his decision to leave was based on his desire to spend more time with family and that he doesn't have any job offers and doesn't plan to leave Fort Worth.
- Throughout his career, Noakes held multiple ranks at the FWPD, including patrol, DWI, and internal affairs.
Fort Worth Chief of Police Neil Noakes says he'll retire next spring after 25 years with the department, including four as chief.
Joined by Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and City Manager David Cooke, Noakes announced Monday afternoon he expected to retire in May 2025.
"I got to tell you, today, I come to you with mixed emotions. This is a very bittersweet announcement," Noakes said. "After a lot of prayer, after a lot of consideration, and after speaking with my family, I've made the decision that I will be retiring at the end of May 2025.
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For me it was always Fort Worth or nowhere. I started my policing career here and this is where I'm ending it.
Neil Noakes, Fort Worth Chief of Police
His official last day is not yet confirmed. His announcement comes only a few months after Dallas Chief of Police Eddie Garcia announced he was retiring from a career in policing to oversee public safety in Austin. Garcia's sudden decision came only weeks after signing an extension with the city.
Noakes put to rest any curiosity about his future, saying he had no plans or job offers and that his decision was based on his family and that he didn't want to look back on his life and regret how he'd spent his time.
"I do want everyone to know this is not to leave for another job. I have no job offers. I have no idea what I'm going to do. But I believe for me to be the husband and father and now grandfather that I want to be I have to step away from this position," Noakes said. "I've got the most amazing, most supportive and loving family."
Parker, who said she considers Noakes a friend, thanked him for giving the city ample time to find his replacement.
"I think it's a testament to his character to give us this much time to know what needs to happen as we lead the city of Fort Worth and our department. That is truly a Chief Noakes quality. Right?" Parker said. "Giving us this much notice to say I'm not retiring until the end of May 2025 and making sure our city is prepared for that transition."
Noakes added that even though he was retiring, he hoped to have some involvement with the department in the future.
"It has been the highlight of my professional life to serve on this amazing department," Noakes said. "I hope to be involved in some way going forward. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not moving. I love this city. I love this department."
Noakes joked that he planned to sleep more in retirement and that he was looking forward to not being tethered to a phone 24/7. He added he was looking forward to more time with his wife, kids, and grandchildren. Noakes then paused and fought back tears when he talked about a part of the job he wouldn't miss.
"And, not have to wake up every morning and check my email to see if someone died. To see if something tragic happened in our city," Noakes said. "If there's something that happened on my watch that I wasn't able to stop. I won't miss that."
Noakes was named the city's police chief in January 2021 to replace Ed Kraus. He joined the department on May 30, 2000, and, before being named chief, was a deputy chief with oversight of the central, east, and south patrol divisions. Throughout his 25-year career, Noakes served in multiple ranks across the department in areas such as patrol, DWI, motors, and internal affairs.
In his application for the chief’s job, Noakes said that policing is at a “critical point” and facing an “unfortunate erosion of public trust,” something he vowed to rebuild during his tenure.
Among the highlights during his decades with the police department, Noakes mentioned Monday how it had grown professionally, become more community-focused, and rolled out programs to focus on the emotional wellness of officers to protect those protecting the city.
"Fort Worth is going to go on just fine, with or without me," Noakes said. "My goal has always been to leave the department maybe a little better than I found it and make sure whoever steps in next picks up the ball and runs with it and does even better. That's what we want to see."
Last month, the department graduated its inaugural class of a criminal justice program for at-risk inner-city high schoolers. The program was designed to break down walls in the community while helping to fill crucial positions in understaffed areas of the department and creating a pipeline of homegrown talent.
Noakes recently secured pay increases for new officers and laterals, with pay going up nearly $10,000 per year for new officers and between $5,000 and $10,000 per year for other service levels.
"As his friend and as mayor I'm just so proud of him and can't wait for him to get to spend more time with his community," Parker said, holding back tears. "Thank you on behalf of the city of Fort Worth because you truly have left this place better than you found it."
Noakes's tenure has not been without struggle. He recently appeared in a series of reports from NBC 5 Investigates titled Justice Shelved, answering for trouble at the department's short-staffed crime lab where delays in evidence testing led to a backlog of hundreds of untested rape kits. Noakes also answered questions about the department's understaffed Cold Case Unit, which has about 1,000 unsolved cases.
Asked about the crime lab on Monday afternoon, Noakes said a recent decision to manage the crime lab by a committee will not change. He said that by his retirement date, he plans for the backlog to be gone and processes to be in place to make sure it never hits that place again. He said their goal is not only to meet the standard but also to set the standard.
Noakes graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Tarleton State University and earned his master’s in criminal justice and criminology from Texas Christian University.
Fort Worth is the 12th largest city in the United States by population and the fifth largest in Texas. The 151-year-old department has an "authorized strength" of 1,875 police officers, protecting an estimated population of about 980,000.
