The City of Keller and the Town of Westlake are proud this week to welcome Brad Fortune as our new chief of police.
Chief Fortune grew up in Midland and served four years in the United States Marine Corps — graduating from the Non-Commissioned Officer Leadership School — before transitioning his skills to law enforcement. He’d known since high school that he wanted a career in policing and comes to Keller after more than 24 years with the Plano Police Department. There, he started as a patrol officer before rising through the ranks and serving in every division of the department, promoting to sergeant in 2002, lieutenant in 2006 and one of Plano’s two assistant chief positions in 2016.
During his career with the City of Plano, Fortune earned his Master Peace Officer certification and received special training in Incident Command Systems, Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools, Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluations, SWAT Supervision and Management, Bomb Squad Executive Management, Negotiation Concepts for Managers and Team Leaders, Mediation and Dispute Resolution, Leadership in Police Organizations, Effective Police Supervision and Leadership. He also served as a Rifle Team member on the Plano Police Honor Guard before being appointed that unit’s commander.
Fortune earned his bachelor’s in Crime and Justice Studies and his master’s in Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Dallas. He also holds a graduate certificate in Homeland Security and Local Government Management and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police at Boston University and the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration’s Management College.
It was that culture of continuous improvement, innovation and deep care for the community that drew Fortune to the Keller Police Department, Fortune said. Also attractive were the new challenge of the city’s extensive regionalization efforts and the work to maintain Keller PD as one of only five agencies in the state accredited at both the state and national levels.
"During the interview process, we asked Brad a lot of questions about his approach to public safety, particularly in how he would connect with Westlake residents, businesses and Westlake Academy. We were pleased with his genuine and thoughtful responses and the approaches he would take in his outreach, communication and his desire to connect with the Westlake community. More than his experience and credentials, which are extensive, was his unwavering passion for public safety and desire to connect with Westlake and to listen to our community to understand our needs. I am confident we made the right selection and am looking forward to working with our new chief", says Westlake Deputy Town Manager Noah Simon.
Outside of work, Fortune has made a home in Prosper with his wife of nearly 15 years, Karyn, and their 13-year-old son Alec. The family also has two cats and are getting ready for their next dog, Fortune said, and on the weekends you’ll either find them watching sports — cheering on the New England Patriots (Karyn is a Boston native), Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Stars in particular — or relaxing at home, “spending time together on the patio solving the problems of the world.” The Fortunes are already looking for homes in Keller and hope to move into the community this summer, just in time for Alec to begin high school.