Retired San Jose, California Chief Eddie Garcia Named New Dallas Police Chief
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Retired San Jose, California Police Chief Eddie Garcia has been named the new head of police in Dallas to replace Chief Renee Hall, the city announced Wednesday.
Garcia was one of seven finalists that were announced earlier this month. Garcia becomes the 30th police chief of Dallas and the first Latino to become head of the ninth largest police department in the U.S.
The city said Garcia joined the San Jose Police Department in 1992 and had been chief there since 2016.
He retired from the department on Dec. 12, 2020.
"My story began as a young boy moving to a new city, learning to speak English in a community that promoted me to Chief. It's an honor to be welcomed into one of America's greatest cities for the second time as Chief," Garcia said in a statement. "I'm truly humbled by the thought of wearing the DPD uniform and working alongside such as amazing group of committed men and women. Together in partnership and collaboration with the Dallas community, we will meet the challenges of today and beyond."
Garcia is expected to start his role on Feb. 3, 2021.
Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax made the announcement Wednesday after saying earlier this month that he wanted to choose a new police chief before the end of the year.
"I'm pleased to see this inclusive, equitable and transparent process culminate successfully with the fire of Chief Garcia," Broadnax said in a statement. "Despite the challenges of the global pandemic, it's an exciting time for him to come to Dallas and continue building on the foundation of R.E.A.L. Change we've built - advancing 21st century policing in ways that are responsible, equitable, actionable and legitimate."
Mayor Eric Johnson released a statement on the hiring of Garcia.
"I spoke this afternoon with our new police chief, Eddie Garcia, and congratulated him on his selection by the city manager. I hope the people of Dallas will join me in giving him and his family a warm welcome. He will join us after spending four years as the police chief in the 10th-largest city in the country, and he was highly regarded by my counterpart in San Jose, Mayor Sam Liccardo.
"We should celebrate the fact that Chief Garcia will become our first Hispanic police chief. This truly is an historic moment for Dallas.
"But we both understand that what truly matters now is the work ahead of us: making our communities safer and stronger. I expect that he will immediately begin developing plans to fight the unacceptable violent crime increases we have seen in Dallas. We will need our communities' help in those efforts. Too many lives have been taken in our city. Too many families have been devastated by violence. And too many people in our neighborhoods feel unsafe.
"Law enforcement alone cannot solve the challenges we face, but the hardworking men and women of the Dallas Police Department are integral to combating violence, which disproportionately affects people of color in our city. As policymakers, we must give Chief Garcia the tools that his officers need to keep people safe and continue to push for solutions — such as the programs recommended by the Mayor's Task Force on Safe Communities — that can prevent crime without placing additional burdens on the police department. The people of Dallas deserve a city government that puts public safety first.
"I want to thank all the candidates who embraced the challenge of working for the City of Dallas. I look forward to seeing Chief Garcia's new strategies in action in the months ahead. Working together, we will strive to make Dallas the safest major city in the United States."
"Welcome to Dallas, @sjpdchief. I and @DallasCountyTx look forward to working with you @CityOfDallas. Have a Peaceful Holidays," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted.
Sgt. Mike Mata, president of the Dallas Police Association, said he believes Garcia's experience is a "huge asset."
"Coming from a city that's so close in demographics and so close as far as size of the population to the city of Dallas, I think is a huge asset. I think also he's an individual who has gone through the same issues, they've had protests, they've had riots there in San Jose, and he's had to deal with those situations to where he's done a good job on there," Mata said.
"Chief Garcia is very knowledgeable and very qualified, he's going to bring a new vision to the police department and like the other chiefs we're gonna get behind him, we're gonna support him and we all know that this department needs that push and that momentum right now," said Sgt. George Aranda of the National Latino Law Enforcement Organization.
Current Chief Hall announced her resignation in September after leading the department since 2017.
She congratulated Chief Garcia on Twitter Wednesday night.
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