FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth police officer was fired by the department after "several incidents of untruthfulness that occurred between October 2022 and January 2023," according to the department.
The Fort Worth Police Department said in a press release Friday that officer Cody Atkinson lied to them on the following occasions:
- Oct. 28, 2022: Fort Worth police said Atkinson "was untruthful about his location after he was dispatched on a domestic disturbance call for service with another officer, and did not respond to the scene."
- Jan. 12, 2023: Fort Worth police said another officer found seized property in Atkinson's patrol vehicle and questioned him about it. According to FWPD, Atkinson told the officer he seized the property the night before (Jan. 11) but forgot to take it to the property room; however, the police report indicates Officer Atkinson took custody of the property on Jan. 5, 2023. FWPD said Atkinson then transported the property to the property room and supplemented the report with a false statement that after losing the property in his vehicle, he subsequently found and tagged the property the day after the seizure.
- After this allegation on Jan. 12, Atkinson was placed on restricted duty and stripped of all police powers during the course of the investigation.
- Jan. 27, 2023: While on restricted duty, Atkinson failed to report to work on time and told his supervisor that he had to go to the municipal court, according to FWPD. The department said they later found out that he had not been contacted by the court and he admitted to lying about his tardiness and used the court story as an excuse.
After a review of the Internal Affairs investigation, Atkinson’s chain of command determined he violated multiple Fort Worth Police Department policies, to which Chief Noakes concurred and fired Atkinson.
Officer Atkinson had been with the Fort Worth Police Department for six years and was assigned to the Patrol Bureau at the time this investigation began, FWPD said.
"The Fort Worth Police Department will continue to hold employees accountable who do not meet the standards expected of a Fort Worth Police Officer," the department said in a release.
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