In a press release Waterloo Chief of Police Joel Fitzgerald has responded to calls for him to resign from his position due to his frequent absenteeism and his candidacy for multiple other Chief of Police positions within less than a year of taking the Waterloo job. The release is written in letter form and refers to Fitzgerald in the third person and it reveals that he has spent much of his time as Waterloo Chief of Police in his family’s hometown of Austin, Texas because his youngest son is being treated for a brain tumor. The letter says medical examinations will be required on an ongoing basis for the foreseeable future and Fitzgerald intends to be there for those examinations. Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Margaret Klein called for Fitzgerald to resign last week saying he had made it clear he has no interest in remaining in Waterloo. Fitzgerald has been a candidate for Chief of Police positions in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Memphis, Tennessee, and now in Austin in less than a year on the job in Waterloo.
