Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead, center, with the Rev. Carol West and David Mack Henderson of Fairness Fort Worth

One of the ways that Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead has been trying to reach out to the LGBT community in his city, following the raid on the Rainbow Lounge last summer, is to actively recruit police trainees from the LGBT community. In keeping with that effort, FWPD liaison to the LGBT community Officer Sara Straten sent me an e-mail this morning about the department’s current recruitment efforts.
I posted something about this here on Instant Tea not too long ago, but this time, I have a little more info. So here you go.
FWPD will be accepting applications online for police officer trainees from July 22 to Aug. 6. To apply, go here, and look for the Police Officer Trainee link.
The FW Police Academy course is 31 weeks long, and trainees receive a salary of $37,377 per year ( or $3,114/month) plus benefits during training. Those who graduate and join the force get a raise to $52,187 per year (or $4,348/month). And those who have military experience and G.I. Bill benefits can access those benefits during training.
The FWPD recruiter is Officer David Garcia. You can reach him via e-mail at david.garcia@fortworthgov.org.