Dallas police chief Eddie Garcia retiring to take job in Austin

DALLAS - Dallas police chief Eddie Garcia will be retiring and taking a job with the City of Austin just four months after recommitting himself to serving Dallas.

The announcement was made public in Austin on Thursday.

A news release from Austin city manager T.C. Broadnax says that Garcia will take over the role in Austin on Nov. 4, 2024.

"Eddie will oversee the public safety portfolio which is comprised of Austin Fire, Austin Police, Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services, Downtown Austin Community Court, Forensic Science, and Homeland Security and Emergency Management," wrote Broadnax in a statement.

City Hall was caught flat-flooted and has been reeling with the news.

"Chief Garcia was the right leader at the right time for the Dallas Police Department," read a statement from Mayor Eric Johnson and Dallas City Manager Kim Tolbert. "We are immensely grateful to Chief Garcia for his dedicated service and unwavering commitment to the safety of our residents. While we are sorry to see him go, we also know that big city police chiefs never stick around forever. We are fortunate to have had a capable, committed, experienced, and innovative police chief these last three and a half years. We wish him the best of luck on his next journey."

At this time, It is not clear when Garcia expects to step down from his position as chief in Dallas.

Garcia was courted for the police chief roles in Austin and Houston earlier this year.

In May, the chief announced that he had reached an agreement with the city that would keep him in Dallas into 2027.

"To live and work in Dallas is to love Dallas," Garcia said in a statement back in May. "This is the right place to complete my service, and I know your police officers are honored to serve Dallas residents. We will keep doing our jobs with excellence and results." 

The agreement had a $306,000 base salary and included a retention bonus for Garcia. Starting in November 2024, he would get a $10,000 bonus every six months. That likely won't happen now.

Garcia also agreed to help the city with the selection of a new police chief before he left.

One month after the deal, Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Dominique Artis was appointed as the city's first chief of public safety over Garcia who would have had to report to him.

The chief is not under contract because of the city's charter.

Since Garcia arrived in Dallas in 2021, city leaders have credited him with reducing crime and improving morale. 

"We were caught by surprise and so the news, of course was not something that we were expecting to wake up to, but you know in the business that we're in. We do expect things like this will happen. I guess because we had just negotiated a contract with Chief Garcia we didn't expect the news today to his departure," said Dallas City Councilwoman Carolyn King Arnold.

A memo from Garcia says the news did not come out the way he intended.

"After much reflection and consideration, I have made the difficult decision to retire from my career in law enforcement," wrote Garcia in a memo to Dallas Police Department employees. "I owe you all everything. Thank you for fighting for our city."

The job in Austin reconnects Garcia with Broadnax.

Broadnax left Dallas earlier this year to become Austin's city manager.

He was the one who brought Garcia to Dallas from San Jose, California.

"His energetic hands-on leadership style, along with 21st Century Policing practices, has taken the criminal elements off the streets in an unbiased way and reduced crime while maintaining the support of his command," wrote Broadnax.

In August, Austin hired a new police chief, Lisa Davis. Davis was previously the assistant chief of the Cincinnati Police Department.

The position Garcia will take opened up last month.

Former Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo was expected to fill the role, but in January of this year opted against taking it, citing "politics and power struggles" in a post on social media.

In the last several months, Dallas police has had a civilian chief over communications, a deputy chief, an assistant chief and two executive assistant chiefs leave for other offers.

City leaders now begin the search for a new leader.

"Our shared mission is clear: We must work together with the Dallas City Council, city staff, and our public safety personnel to build upon our incredible successes. And we must begin a search for a new chief who can help us achieve our goal of making Dallas the safest major city in America," reads the statement from Johnson and Tolbert.