Local News

Fort Worth Names Woman As Interim Police Chief

FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News/ AP) ― For the first time ever, the Fort Worth City Council has approved a female police chief.

Chief Ralph Mendoza is getting ready to retire, and Executive Deputy Chief Patricia Kneblick will take over on March 1 as interim chief.

"I have full faith she'll do a great job as chief," said police cadet Anna Lewis. "I'll be happy to serve under her."

Kneblick has been with the Fort Worth police department for 26 years and was the department's first female Deputy Chief. But that's a reality she doesn't dwell on.

"Society accepts women on an equal standing in whatever job it is," said Kneblick.

Fort Worth's overall crime rate is on the decline, but violent crimes are up. Kneblick acknowledges there is still work to do and said she'll continue programs already in place.

"I do believe that the goal of making Fort Worth the safest major city in the nation is very doable," she said. "The fine men and women work very hard to make Fort Worth safe. They're caring and committed to their jobs and to the people of Fort Worth."

She directs the Executive Services Bureau, one of the department's six bureaus that includes training, internal affairs and staff services.

In 2005, she led the department's response when thousands of evacuees arrived in the city after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

She became Fort Worth's first female deputy police chief in late 1995, 14 years after joining the department as a patrol officer on the midnight shift.

City Manager Dale Fisseler said Kneblick has done "an outstanding job."

The Fort Worth City Council will now undergo a nationwide search for a permanent chief. Kneblick said she will apply.

Currently, Detroit, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco have female police chiefs.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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