Garcia, who was hired as Dallas' city manager in 2021, works for the city manager in an at-will capacity, meaning he can leave at any time.
DALLAS — The cities of Houston and Austin have expressed interest in potentially hiring Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia for the same position, sources tell WFAA.
To retain Garcia, Dallas may need to offer a contract to the police chief, officials said. However, Dallas' city charter does not allow the police chief to sign contracts, and none of the police chiefs before Garcia have held contracts in recent years.
Garcia was hired as Dallas' city manager in 2021, but is currently an at-will employee under the city manager, meaning he can leave the position at any time.
The city of Houston expressed interest in hiring Garcia as police chief Wednesday after city officials accepted Chief Troy Finner's retirement.
Finner's resignation will create an opening in a department that employs about 5,300 officers and more than 1,000 civilian employees. By comparison, the Dallas Police Department has about 3,200 officers and about 600 civilian employees.
Houston officials have not yet named a potential replacement for Finner, and Garcia has not commented on his possible connection to opening day in Houston.
When asked for comment, the Houston Mayor's Office issued the following statement:
“Mayor [John] Whitmire wants to improve HPD, take the department out of the headlines and return to focusing on public safety.He is confident that he is the acting director. [Larry] Mr. Satterwhite will be a strong leader and it is premature to discuss next steps in finding a new police chief.”
Austin's interest in Garcia stems from a vacancy in the city's chief position since former Mayor Joseph Chacon stepped down in August, and because the former Dallas city manager who hired Garcia It comes as manager TC Broadnax becomes Austin city manager starting this week. .
The Austin Police Department continues to operate under the supervision of Interim Police Chief Robin Henderson, and said information about the hiring process for a permanent chief is not yet available.
In response to a WFAA report that other Texas cities have expressed interest in Garcia as a candidate for the vacant leadership position, Interim Dallas City Manager Kim Tolbert issued the following statement:
“It's no surprise that other Texas cities have expressed interest in Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia. He has been a key leader in lowering Dallas' crime rate and has helped boost police morale while also , which has increased residents' confidence in the direction of the police department.
It's clear that the councilman and I want to make sure he continues to do good work for Dallas. Achieving that will require flexibility, creativity and a great deal of commitment, but we are working tirelessly to develop solutions. I think Secretary Garcia wants to stay here.
For those of you in the city shopping in Dallas for a new chief, I have one message for you. “Turn around and go home.” In the meantime, I will continue to keep the City Council and the public informed of progress on these issues. ”
Mr. Garcia was appointed as the new chief of the Dallas Police Department at the end of 2020 and was sworn in on February 3, 2021. His hire comes after a tumultuous year of protests following the killing of George Floyd during an arrest by Minneapolis police.This led to the resignation of former Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall.. Mr. Garcia was also the first Hispanic police chief to lead DPD.
The city of Dallas hired Mr. Garcia to reduce violent crime, restore community trust, and boost city morale. Violent crime in the city has declined for the third year in a row and is now at its lowest point in six years.
Prior to arriving in Dallas, Garcia served as chief of the San Jose Police Department from 2016 to 2020. He began his police career with the department in 1992.
Under the Garcia administration, DPD launched a violent crime reduction plan aimed at reducing crime in the city's most violent neighborhoods after three years of growth. This strategy includes hotspot policing, deploying police to areas where violent crime is likely to occur, dispatching officers to arrest repeat offenders, disrupting criminal networks, and working with local communities. This included a focus on deterrence and urban blight mitigation.
DPD also created a crime analysis dashboard under Garcia. This will allow the public to see crime-related data and response times in the Dallas area, as well as where crimes are occurring. Data on incidents in which police officers used force in public was also released, providing information on the victim, the officer, the outcome of the investigation, and the force used.
Less than six months after taking office, Mr. Garcia apologized to Santos-Rodriguez's mother 48 years after her death. Twelve-year-old Rodriguez was murdered by a Dallas police officer in 1973.
“We will not allow our department to forget. In order to improve, we must learn from the dark moments of our past,” Garcia said at the time.
Garcia is also the first Dallas police chief to be appointed president of the Metropolitan Police Chiefs Association, which is comprised of executives from major cities in the United States and Canada.
Last year, Garcia worked with state lawmakers to pass a law that would make ankle monitor amputation a felony after two people were killed by a suspect on parole who had his ankle monitor cut off twice at the hospital.
Garcia has been working to hire more officers, but DPD is still short by about 800 officers. The department is also struggling to improve response times. To help with this, Garcia has made it mandatory for some non-emergency complaints to be reported online.
