Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia is reportedly retiring from law enforcement and joining the City of Austin in a civilian capacity.
Garcia will start his new job in November as an assistant city manager in Austin, according to a memorandum from Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax obtained by WFAA. The job switch would end Garcia’s nearly four-year run as head of the Dallas Police Department.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, DPD has been laboring under a chronic labor shortage, fielding nearly 1,000 fewer officers than a prior City analysis advised.
Broadnax resigned as the city manager of Dallas in February after a troubled seven-year tenure, then shifted to the same role in Austin. He first hired Garcia to lead DPD in December 2020. The two will reportedly be reunited in Austin this year.
DPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Garcia will be one of four assistant city managers in Austin and will focus on public safety, according to WFAA. He will work alongside Veronica Briseño, Robert Goode, and Stephanie Hayden-Howard.
Dallas Police Chief Reneé Hall resigned in 2020 after facing criticism for her handling of the George Floyd riots and rising crime. The City then hired Garcia, who previously served as the police chief of San Jose, California.
Garcia headed the launch of Dallas’ Violent Crime Reduction {Plan in 2021, which led to decreases in certain categories of violent crime, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The City announced in May that Garcia committed to stay in Dallas as police chief for three more years. However, the addendum of the City’s agreement with Garcia did not mention such a commitment, according to The Dallas Morning News. It included a $306,440.40 base salary and a $10,000 biannual retention bonus.