By Harrison Mantas
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
FORT WORTH, — The president of a Fort Worth police non-profit took to social media over the weekend to call out three members of the Fort Worth City Council for not attending Sgt. Billy Randolph’s funeral.
President of the Brotherhood of the Fallen Jimmy Pollozani’s Facebook post came hours after a Saturday memorial service where hundreds gathered to honor the 56-year-old sergeant’s life. Randolph died Aug. 12 after being struck by a wrong-way driver while responding to an early morning 18-wheeler crash on Interstate 35W.
Pollozani called out council members Elizabeth Beck, Chris Nettles, and Jared Williams for not attending the Saturday service, saying it reflected poorly on their commitment to honoring those who serve the community.
“We owe it to our heroes to show up and pay our respects,” Pollozani said in the post.
Pollozani deleted the post Monday morning, and did not immediately respond to a call from the Star-Telegram requesting comment.
Beck and Nettles noted in interviews with the Star-Telegram that they had attended an Aug. 14 candle light vigil to pay respects, but were unable to attend Saturday’s service due to family commitments.
Williams did not immediately respond to a phone call and email from the Star-Telegram requesting comment.
“If you got something to say, Say It To My Face!” Nettles wrote in a comment on Pollozani’s original Facebook post.
Pollozani’s post is reflective of divisive national rhetoric around community-police relations that shouldn’t be spread on a local level, Nettles said Monday in a phone interview with the Star-Telegram.
“He didn’t have the gall to come up to me and ask me why I wasn’t there. He made a political stance,” Nettles said, adding that the focus should be on Randolph’s family and the officers grieving his loss rather than scoring political points.
It was clear from Aug. 14 candle light vigil that Randolph was a man that loved his family, Beck said in a phone interview Monday.
“I think that a man with that kind of love for his family would understand why I prioritized mine,” she said.
She noted the city has 11 council members and 1,800 police officers, but her children have only one mother.
“It’s my job to be there for them,” Beck said.
She called Pollozani’s comments “wayward” and “unprofessional,” and said the city should be focused on celebrating Randolph’s nearly 30 years of service to Fort Worth.
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