DALLAS — Two years after he was fired from his job with the Dallas Police Department, Josh Forner still has everything he would need to appear as an officer of the law.
In a huge plastic tub, he has uniforms, jackets, handcuffs, a flashlight, a taser and even an assault weapon. He says it has been gathering dust in his garage because the department never asked for it back.
"I don't feel like it's my responsibility to get terminated and then be like, 'Oh hey, can I bring your stuff back to you?'" Forner told WFAA.
Forner was very publicly fired from the department in March 2017 after he was accused of inappropriate use of force and turning off a police camera. He disputes those accusations and says that his firing was about department politics. Forner served as a DPD officer for ten years, joining the force after he served in the Marines.
"They had an agenda [for the firing] and they pushed me out of the door to make themselves look good," Forner said.
Forner says he was told that he was a liability and a hazard, but he says until this week he never heard from the department again to follow up about his gear and never received any requests to return it.
Forner said he finally received a call this week from DPD with a question.
"They actually called and asked me if I still had it," he said. "You would think that someone on the command staff side would have a tally on where their weapons are."
WFAA asked the Dallas Police Department to comment about Forner's story. They have asked for more time to respond to our questions.
Forner said that in the wrong hands, the gear could easily have been misused instead of remaining in a garage. He said he is planning to return the gear this week after finally being asked, and the department still owes him a final paycheck for vacation time and back pay.
"You need to know where your guns are for the Dallas Police Department, where your uniforms are," Forner said. "People could be impersonating officers all day long. How many other officers have left the department and have all their stuff?"