After three former Waterloo Police Chiefs penned a letter critical of current chief, Joel Fitzgerald, he has now returned serve, according to KWWL. Former Chiefs Dan Trelka, Bernal Koehrsen, and Thomas Jennings wrote in their letter about the low morale in the department, the large number of resignations, and the retiring of the griffin logo as criticisms of Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has written in his response that “the sky is absolutely not falling in the Waterloo Police Department.” He did acknowledge that there are currently seven open positions within the department but pointed out that is not abnormal at this time in police forces. He also criticized the media’s coverage of him and his department. Fitzgerald has found himself in hot water in his time as Waterloo Police Chief for several reasons, including the fact that he spend very little time in the city and has applied for a multitude of other positions throughout the country, beginning just months after taking the Waterloo job.
