FWPD West Division Newsletter February 2025

City of Fort Worth, Texas sent this bulletin at 02/11/2025 09:40 AM CST

FWPD West Division Newsletter

February 2025

2nd annual COP Service Pin Award Ceremony held on January 14, 2025

The second annual COP Service Pin Award Ceremony was held on January 14, 2025, to recognize West Division COP members for their many hours of voluntary service to make their community a safer place to live and work. (35) COP members attended the ceremonies. Service pins were not only awarded for years of service but for specific categories as well including Rookie of the Year, 110% (over 100 hours of patrolling/basing in a year), Outstanding Patroller/Baser, and Community Service. Newly appointed West Division Commander Heise provided the keynote address.

2025 COP Service Pin Ceremony Collage 1 011425

2025 COP Service Pin Ceremony Collage#2 011425

Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary of North Texas attend presentation on internet safety and AI scams

Internet safety and AI scams were the focus of the presentation given to the Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary of North Texas. Approximately 40 ladies attended the presentation to learn how to keep themselves safe on the internet and how to avoid becoming a victim of an AI scam. NPO Jason Back (K18) also spoke to the women about his role as an NPO and how NPOs serve as the link between the police department and the community. The Salvation Army is also holding a garage sale on Friday April 11, 2025, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and on Saturday April 12, 2025, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Proceeds from the sale go directly to help in providing aid to women, men, children and veterans facing homelessness, poverty, addiction, food insecurity, domestic violence and more in Tarrant County. If you have gently used items that you would like to donate, you can do so between February 5th and April 8th at 229 E. Felix St. Fort Worth, Texas 76115. For large bulky items, you can call (817) 923-2650 to schedule a pick-up. Please see the flyer below for further details.

Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary NTX 012125

City Council issues proclamation for community service to Bob and Mona Bienski

On January 28, 2025, District 7 Councilmember Macy Hill issued a proclamation to Bob and Mona Bienski for community service. Bob and Mona have been involved in the Code Blue Citizens on Patrol program since 2009. Bob is the captain of the Westpoint/Chapel Creek COP group which happens to be the largest COP group in the city. Bob has twice been recognized as the West Division Patroller of the Year and plays McGruff the Crime Dog who appears at many police sponsored events throughout the city. Attending the event to honor Bob and Mona were Chief Noakes, AC Alldredge, AC Swearingin, DC Daniels, DC Wheeler, West Division Commander Heise, Lincoln District NPO Sgt. Owen, King District NPO Sgt. Stary, NPOs McEwan, Janzen and Bryant. Also, in attendance were members of Bob and Mona's Westpoint/Chapel Creek COP group as well as members of their immediate family.

Proclamation Ceremony Jan. 28, 2025 Collage 1A

West Division Promotions

Three members of West Division were recently recognized at the FWPD's promotion ceremony held January 13, 2025, at Travis Avenue Baptist Church. Juan Villagomez former NPO K11 was promoted to Corporal and is assigned as a detective in the Crimes Against Children Unit. Christopher Gorrie, former Lt. WCIU was promoted to Captain in the Force Analysis Unit and Amelia Heise was promoted to Commander of West Division. Commander Heise previously served as the Baker District Patrol Lieutenant in Central Division. We also want to recognize former Commander Stefanie Ricks who was unable to attend the ceremony but was promoted to Deputy Chief North Command.

West Division Personnel Changes

With the recent promotions and transfers in West Division, the following personnel changes became effective on January 11, 2025. Former West Division Commander Stefanie Ricks has been promoted to Deputy Chief North Command. Amy Heise was promoted to be the new commander for West Division. Jason Montoya will serve as Commander Heise's administrative sergeant. Lt. Christopher Gorrie WCIU has been promoted to Captain. Lt. Felicia Yates has been named to replace Lt. Gorrie. Lt. Daniel Davis was named to replace Lt. Matthew Medders (who transferred to Traffic Division) as West Division Patrol King District. To learn a little more about our newest West Division command staff, see their brief biographies below.

Commander Heise

Amelia "Amy" Heise has been with the Fort Worth Police Department for 15 years. A Fort Worth native, Heise graduated from Pascal High School and TCU. She also holds a Master of Public Administration from UT Arlington. She started her law enforcement career as a patrol officer in East and Central Divisions. She was promoted to detective in 2014 where she worked in the Domestic Violence, Crimes Against Children and Major Case Units. After being promoted to Sergeant, she worked in Central Patrol, Internal Affairs, Public Relations Office and served as Chief Noakes Chief of Staff. When Heise was promoted to Lieutenant, Heise served the Baker District Patrol Lieutenant in Central Division. Commander Heise has an 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son. In her free time, she serves as an assistant coach on her son's baseball team.

Lieutenant Davis

Lt. Daniel "Danny" Davis has been with the FWPD for 20 years. During his career, Lt. Davis has worked in Patrol, DWI, Family Violence, Property Crimes, Zero Tolerance, SWAT, Air Support, TacMed and most recently Internal Affairs. Lt. Davis has been married for 21 years and has two children (a daughter who is a freshman at TCU and a son who is a sophomore in high school). Lt. Davis has several hobbies including golf, ice hockey, pickleball, playing the guitar, scuba diving and woodworking. Lt. Davis is also a member of his church's worship team and is a youth group leader. One of Lt. Davis's favorite things to do is spending time with his family and going to awesome places where he can make memories with them.

Lieutenant Yates

My name is Felicia Yates and I am the new lieutenant over West Criminal Investigations Unit. I have the honor of getting to work with the excellent group of officers, detectives and sergeants who conduct the follow up investigations on most of the criminal offenses that occur in West Division. I grew up on the westside of Fort Worth and this assignment has allowed me to return to my roots! I am a 26 year veteran of the department and have had the privilege of working in some amazing assignments during my tenure.

My previous assignment was the Lieutenant over the Training Unit which included Recruit Training and Advanced Training. This assignment allowed me to work with recruits, as well as in-service officer training,

I look forward to this new role and getting to know the dedicated officers who call this unit home, as well as the citizens of the communities that make up West!

Fun fact about me: I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and love to bake!

Sergeant Montoya

Sgt. Jason Montoya has been with the FWPD for 18 years. Sgt. Montoya followed in his father's footsteps, as his father was an officer with the department for 29 years and retired in January 2008. Sgt. Montoya worked in Patrol for 10 years which included stops in North Division, South Division, Central Division and West Division. During Sgt. Montoya's time in Patrol, he was the FTO to many officers and served as a driving instructor for new recruits, which he descibed as a "very scary experience". Sgt. Montoya promoted to Corporal/Detective in 2017 and worked in the Domestic Violence Unit until November 2018 after which he moved to the Sexual Assault Unit where he remained until promoting to Sgt. in May 2023. After his promotion, Sgt. Montoya worked in Central Division Midnight Patrol from May 2023 to January 2025. When the opportunity presented itself to serve as Commander Heise's Administrative Sergeant he accepted the position without hesitation. Included among Sgt. Montoya's hobbies are camping and fishing along the coast. Sgt. Montoya recently tried his hand at golf and has become an avid golfer. The most enjoyable pastime for Sgt. Montoya is attempting to entertain his wife and 3 wonderful daughters.

Scam Alerts

What could be better than opening the mailbox or the front door and finding an unexpected package? Free gifts might seem like fun — but when an unexpected package lands on your doorstep, it may come with a higher cost than you expected.

Scammers are sending people fake “luxury” items like rings, beauty products, and even Bluetooth speakers. This is sometimes called a “brushing scam,” so called because it’s “brushing up” — or increasing — the scammer’s sales. How does it work? Scammers or sellers of knock-off merchandise find your address or other personal information online. They send you goods you never ordered and use your information to write fake online reviews about their products in your name — which helps them boost sales.

“Who cares if they write a fake review in my name?” you might say. Well, if you got a package you didn’t order, it means someone likely has your personal information — and undoing the potential harm from identity theft could cost you time and money.

If you got an unexpected package you didn’t order:

Change passwords on all your online shopping accounts in case they were compromised. If the package came from Amazon or another online marketplace, send the platform a message so they can investigate removing the seller.
Check your credit weekly for free at AnnualCreditReport.com to monitor the information in your credit report and check for signs of identity theft.
Don’t contact the sender. If you search online for the sender and reach out, anyone who responds will likely try to get more sensitive information from you to try to steal your money.

Got a package you didn’t order? Keep the merchandise and report fake reviews and scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

An unexpected package from an unknown sender arrives in your name. You open it and find a note that says it’s a gift, but it doesn't say who sent it. The note also says to scan a QR code to find out who sent it — or to get instructions on how to return it. Did someone really send you a gift? Or is it an attempt to steal your personal information?

If you know it’s really a gift, you can keep it. But know that the unexpected package could be a new twist on a brushing scam that could steal your personal information.

If you scan the QR code, it could take you to a phishing website that steals your personal information, like credit card numbers or usernames and passwords. It could also download malware onto your phone and give hackers access to your device.

If you scanned the QR code and entered your credentials, like your username and password, into a website, change your password right away. Create a strong password that is hard to guess, and turn on two-factor authentication.

If you’re concerned someone has your personal information, get your free credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com. Look for signs that someone is using your information, like accounts in your name you don’t recognize. (You can get a free credit report every week.)

Also review your credit card bills and bank account statements and look for transactions you didn’t make. And consider taking other steps to protect your identity, like freezing your credit or putting a fraud alert on your credit report.

If you think someone stole your identity, report it, and get a personal recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.

What else can you do to protect your personal information? Regularly update your computer software and your phone to get the latest security patches. And learn to recognize a phishing email or text message.

And what about the package? The law says you can keep it as a gift.

What are NPO's?

By having the Neighborhood Patrol Officers dedicated to specific geographic areas, the officers are not only able to become more familiar with the area than regular patrol officers, but they are also able to serve as a resource for and get to know area residents and business owners, learn about neighborhood concerns, and build working relationships with area Citizen on Patrol volunteers to work hand-in-hand in reducing neighborhood crime and promoting crime prevention tools.

Primary Duties:

Work with crime analysts to identify crime trends within assigned neighborhoods, maintain open lines of communication with detectives, and assist the Information Management Section and supervisors in planning appropriate actions to address issues.
Foster positive community leadership as a means to empower citizens within their neighborhoods by encouraging involvement in Citizens on Patrol, Citizen Police Academy, and Crime Watch to work collaboratively to reduce crime and promote crime prevention tools.
Maintain open lines of communication between residents, business owners and the police department by attending community meetings and events, including neighborhood association and other community meetings.
Recruit Citizen on Patrol volunteers, schedule them for training, and provide on-going training and correspondence to encourage and retain active memberships.

Enter your address on http://oneaddress.fortworthtexas.gov/ You will find your BEAT and NPO assigned as well as your nearest City Facilities, Services, and Crime Data.

211 Texas

Connecting People and Services

No matter where you live in Texas, you can dial 2-1-1, or (877) 541-7905, and find information about resources in your local community. Whether you need help finding food or housing, child care, crisis counseling or substance abuse treatment, one number is all you need to know.