Will Dallas' police chief leave for Austin or Houston? The pros and cons of each job
Sources: Dallas police chief wanted by Houston, Austin jobs
Law enforcement sources say Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia has been contacted by large cities about potential openings for their top jobs. Criminologist Alex Del Carmen talks about the potential pros and cons of Garcia taking a job in Houston and Austin.
DALLAS - Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia is being approached by other Texas cities for their top police job.
Law enforcement sources tell FOX 4, Houston is the most recent department to reach out.
Chief Garcia is being sought out because of his recent success in lowering violent crime.
Garcia, who came to the Dallas Police Department from San Jose, California, has received praise for his violent crime reduction plan.
"In today's world, post George Floyd, that is what you want in a chief of police, right? You want a chief of police that's going to back up, you know, all officers that are doing a good job, but then also, at the same time, hold those that are not doing a good job accountable and also regain the trust of the community. It's very, very hard to do all of that." said Alex Del Carmen, a criminology professor at Tarleton State University.
Houston's chief, Troy Finner suddenly retired on Tuesday.
Former Houston PD Chief Troy Finner
His department is in a scandal right now, with 264,000 cases that were marked not to investigate over the past 8 years.
READ MORE: Former HPD Chief Finner's full statement after suddenly retiring: 'It has been an honor'
The unknown is whether Chief Garcia would want to walk into that.
"At the same time, some of them see that as an opportunity to make a difference and to go in there and establish a new normal," said Del Carmen.
Another interested city is Austin, who is currently without a permanent police chief.
Austin is where T.C. Broadnax, the man who hired Garcia, is now the city manager.
When he was hired, Garcia made Broadnax a promise he would stay in Dallas for five years.
Garcia just started his fourth year with the department.
Austin can also pose a career headache. Governor Abbott is the city's biggest critic on police budgeting, making it a job with political pressure.
"I think what's going to be hard for the next chief of police, whoever that person is, is to be able to satisfy council, to be able to address the community needs and to somehow, be unnoticed by the state politics, at the state capitol," said Del Carmen.
It's not often when the city council, mayor and a police association all jump to support a chief at the same time.
Hours after the news about Houston surfaced, interim Dallas city manager Kim Tolbert said in a statement, "To the cities shopping in Dallas for a new chief, turn around and go back home."
The Dallas Police Association said in a statement, "every professional Dallas police officer can attest Garcia is the best police chief in the country. He will most certainly be a target of countless cities across Texas looking to improve public safety."
We reached out to DPD and they had no comment.
Garcia also has not made any public statements since the news.