Tag: casket incident

A Fort Worth police report appears to clear community activist and nonprofit leader Patrice Jones of involvement in the December 2022 incident when a casket bearing the names of people killed by police was left on Mayor Mattie Parker’s lawn.

The report, obtained by the Star-Telegram through a public records request, mentions two Facebook posts by Jones, but notes that none of the people captured on video dropping off the casket match her physical description.

The Star-Telegram also requested pictures and video connected to the report, which the police department is mailing to the newspaper on a thumb drive.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker accused Jones of being involved in the incident after receiving backlash for a comment directed at Jones during the Sept. 30 council meeting.

Jones attended that meeting to advocate for a city council meeting schedule with more public comment meetings.

“If you guys make it harder for us to talk to y’all in spaces like this, then we’re just going to have to come to spaces where you are and make it uncomfortable,” Jones said at the Sept. 30 meeting.

Parker responded saying, “Patrice, I still have your casket,” before calling the next speaker.

The mayor later clarified her comments saying they were in reference to the December 2022 casket incident. She acknowledged in an Oct. 2 statement to the Star-Telegram that Jones’ words had triggered her, and provoked her responsibility as a mother and protector of her family.

“In the heat of the moment, I wanted her to know that I knew she was involved in leaving a casket in our front yard. There is evidence in the police report from December of 2022 and eyewitness accounts to this fact,” Mayor Parker said in an Oct. 2 statement to the Star-Telegram.

However, the only evidence explicitly mentioning Jones in the report pertains to a pair of Facebook posts made before and after the incident.

On Dec. 3, Jones posted, “Any funeral home willing to allow use of a casket for tomorrow? We also need some buses from some churches,” the report states.

About a week later on Dec. 11, Jones made a lengthy post reacting to news reports about the casket, the report states.

Jones’s post argued that leaving the casket was a legitimate form of political protest, and went on to criticize the mayor for her vote in November 2022 against a community police oversight board.

However, the report does not include a section at the bottom of the post noting it was a repost. The original author was Mindia Whittier, a fellow community organizer, who attended the Oct. 14 meeting and spoke in defense of Jones.

“I’m not that good a writer,” Jones said in a phone interview with the Star-Telegram.

She acknowledged making both posts, but said she had no memory of them.

“Although there was mention of a casket in a post it is unlikely that Jones was at the scene of crime,” the police report states.

“None of the persons involved in dropping the caskets have the same physical features as Jones. This makes it virtually impossible to say she committed the offense necessary for search warrant or any other warrant,” the report said.

Jones said she was disappointed in the mayor, when reached by the Star-Telegram of Thursday.

“I can’t believe the mayor of the 11th largest city who’s also an attorney would get on the news and tell a bold-faced lie,” she said.

Jones accused Parker of slander and defamation, and said the incident could have an impact on the ability of her nonprofit to raise funds.

Jones is the founder of Southside Community Garden, which helps residents in the 76104 ZIP code get access to fresh produce through home gardening.

She called on Parker to apologize, help establish a community police oversight board, come volunteer with her nonprofit, and write letters of support to help Southside Community Garden secure funding.

A spokesperson for Mayor Parker declined to comment for this story and pointed the Star-Telegram to the mayor’s Oct. 2 statement.

Speaking to reporters after her State of the City address Thursday, Parker said she didn’t regret making the casket comment at the Sept. 30 council meeting, but did regret anything that puts a negative light on the city.

This story was originally published October 16, 2025 at 5:39 PM.