Horned Frog Neil Noakes (MS ’19) was recently named chief of the Fort Worth Police Department, where he will lead the department of more than 2,400 sworn officers and civilian employees. Promoted from deputy chief, he has been with the department for more than 20 years.
“I am absolutely delighted and humbled,” said Noakes at a press conference reported in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I am honored. And I can promise you this, all of us may not agree every day but as long as we can agree to keep coming back to the table, as long as we agree to keep collaborating, as long as we work together, I don’t see anything we can’t accomplish together. I will do my best to lead with integrity and to model the behavior we expect from all of our employees.”
Noakes earned his master’s in criminal justice & criminology from TCU and since created the LEAD (Leadership, Executive & Administrative Development) certificate program, in which he now teaches. In his honor, the department awards the Neil Noakes LEAD Founders Award each year.
Noakes was named as one of several finalists after a nationwide search, Channel 5 reported, to replace the department’s retiring chief.
Read more from NBC DFW, WFAA and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.