‘I was born into it.’ | Young recruit steps into his father’s footsteps, joining Fort Worth PD

Levi Carstens follows his father’s legacy, joining Fort Worth Police, embracing its challenges and expectations.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Following in his father’s footsteps, Levi Carstens is preparing to begin his career with the Fort Worth Police Department. He is part of the department’s 160th recruit class.

“It’s just something I was always born into,” Levi Carstens said.

Inside his final recruit classroom at the police academy, the 22-year-old was issued the equipment he will soon carry on the streets of Fort Worth, including his gun belt, taser, firearm, and uniforms.

“Not a lot of people want to do this job, and not a lot of people can do it,” Levi Carstens said.

Carstens’s connection to the department began long before the academy. Twenty-two years ago, his father, Officer Matthew Carstens, held him in his arms during his own swearing-in ceremony with the same department. Eventually, the father, who turned policeman, would hear words from a son who admired his dad and his job.

“I was probably five or six years old when I told him I wanted to be a police officer,” Levi Carstens said.

Growing up in a law enforcement household helped shape that goal.

“We would watch body cam footage together. We watch Cops on Sunday night,” Levi Carstens said.

His father, a member of the department’s Crisis Intervention Team, made sure Levi understood the dangers of the job, conversations the two have revisited many times.

“I’ve come to terms with that anything can happen, and the only thing I can do is, is be ready for everything and anything,” Levi Carstens said.

The eight months at the academy were demanding, but also motivating, including moments like running alongside the police chief during training.

“Running along with us in the middle of the street, for all of us, it was, it was motivational to say the least,” Levi Carstens said.

Carstens and the rest of the 160th recruit class will help move the department closer to its staffing goal. Fort Worth police currently have 1,802 sworn officers. With this graduating class, that number increases to 1,832, leaving the department 64 officers short of its authorized strength of 1,896.

As he prepares to begin patrol, Carstens says success will be measured one day at a time.

“At the end of the day, being able to look back and say that was a good day. I did a good job,” he said.

Police Chief Eddie Garcia says the badge carries both honor and responsibility.

“Wearing this uniform and the honor that comes with it, and the support that they get from the city is tremendous, and we demand that it really brings out your best,” Eddie Garcia said.

For Levi Carstens, that expectation is nothing new.

“I know I’m held to a high standard. I’ve been held to a high standard my whole life just because my dad was an officer,” Levi Carstens said. “The way I was raised and the way I was growing up has always helped me to a very high standard, and the reason why it doesn’t bother me that much is that I hold myself to a high standard.”

Officer Carstens and his recruit classmates will spend four months on the streets with a Field Training Officer. The FTOs will evaluate them to make sure they are ready to patrol solo as brave men and women sworn to protect and serve the citizens of Fort Worth.