Retiring Fort Worth police chief talks biggest wins, challenges of his career

Friday marks one week until Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes steps away from the department.

Noakes retires after 25 years with Fort Worth PD, and his four years as chief have been marked by moments of soaring accomplishments and serious challenges.

NBC 5 was granted the outgoing chief's final sit-down media interview, where he reflected on his law enforcement career.

Effective May 30, Noakes will leave Fort Worth PD to spend more time with family.

“Really it was when I found out I was going to be a grandfather, it made me really reassess my priorities,” he told NBC 5.

Back in 2000, Noakes joined the department in pursuit of a life of public service.

“I can remember day one in the academy, it was like a deer in the headlights look on my face,” Noakes said. “I had no idea what I was getting into.”

He would rise through the ranks, serving as a patrol officer, sergeant and commander before being named chief of the department in 2021.

Noakes says the toughest challenges he’s faced in that time have been the deaths of members of the Fort Worth police family.

“We lost a couple of officers in the line of duty fairly recently, with Sgt. John Jensen and Sgt. Billy Randolph, and by far that’s the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with,” said Noakes.

His tenure was also marked by other difficulties: an NBC 5 investigation found Fort Worth police had a backlog of 900 untested rape kits, with the department’s crime lab clearing that backlog this month.

“They did it, they did an incredible job, and I worked with the staff here to make sure we had policies, procedures, we had everything in place that we needed to make sure this never happens again,” Noakes said.

We asked the police chief to show us the change he’s most proud of bringing to the department.

Noakes says it’s all about his officers: last year, the chief launched the Fort Worth PD wellness unit – a group of officers dedicated to making sure their brothers and sisters in blue have access to help after traumatic experiences.

“Whatever resource they need, they need some sort of counseling, maybe they need to see a psychologist, whatever it is, we already have those resources set up,” said Noakes.

He also launched a partnership with the American Warrior Association called the R3 Program – offering retreats for officers to learn to build resiliency skills.

Cpl. Tamarrowa Dixson is a living testament to the results.

“I was dealing with things at home in my personal life, that I was having to deal with those things at work,” said Dixson. “But I would never tell anybody that I needed help, I still was struggling until this program came.”

Dixson said R3 has helped her get back to her best self while serving the community, and other officers have said the same.

“I’m a regular person, when I take this uniform off, I still have the same feelings that everybody else has,” said Dixson. “So it’s okay to not be okay.”

Noakes said the department will soon have an entire officer wellness facility, part of the lasting impact he hopes to leave on the Fort Worth Police Department.

“I hope people know I really did care, I really did try, and I did my best to leave it better than I found it,” Noakes said of the department.