Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald released body camera footage of Sgt. Kenneth Pierce ordering a younger officer to fire her Taser at a woman. (FWPD)
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Texas police sergeant has been fired for allegedly ordering a rookie officer to use a stun gun on a woman who had called for help during a domestic dispute.
Fort Worth police Chief Joel Fitzgerald says he fired Sgt. Kenneth Pierce on Monday for needlessly initiating the physical confrontation with the woman. He says the 22-year police veteran became “impatient” and escalated the confrontation with the woman, who he says was cooperating.
Fitzgerald also released a 12-minute video taken from the rookie officer’s body camera that he says clearly shows Pierce’s behavior was “absolutely unacceptable.”
The episode happened in August. It came to light recently when supervisors conducted a regular review of officers’ use of force.
An attorney for Pierce, Terry Daffron, says the firing will be appealed.
