It’s Deja Vu in Dallas as the city faces yet another expensive search for a new police chief.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia abruptly retired from law enforcement Thursday to take a civilian job in Austin under former Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax, who is the new Austin city manager.
Broadnax announced Garcia will start as an Austin assistant city manager in November, according to a statement obtained by WFAA. The job switch would end Garcia’s nearly four-year run as head of the Dallas Police Department.
Many see Garcia’s abrupt departure as eerily similar to his predecessor, Renee Hall.
Hall, the former Dallas police chief, 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 boasted 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.
As recently as May, interim City Manager Kim Tolbert insisted Garcia would remain in Dallas for years to come.
“Obviously, City Council members and I want to keep him in Dallas doing a good job. It will take flexibility, creativity with a hefty dose of accountability to accomplish that, but we are working tirelessly to develop solutions. I believe Chief Garcia wants to remain here,” Tolbert said, according to WFAA.
But any hopes Garcia would remain vanished last week, when he opted to walk away from his $306,440.40 yearly base salary and a $10,000 biannual retention bonus.
Now the city must start a new police chief search for the third time in just over four years. Adding to that challenge, the National Policing Institute says recruiting and retention are getting more challenging — and cost prohibitive.
The recruiting difficulties may be daunting, as Garcia was managing a staff that many Dallas observers say was uniquely challenged.
A city analysis states that a municipality the size of Dallas needs roughly three officers for every 1,000 residents, putting an ideal staffing level at around 4,000 officers. The department currently fields fewer than 3,200 officers.
The effects of the police shortage have been felt in Downtown Dallas. The city center logs far higher crime rates than Fort Worth’s downtown area, which is reportedly patrolled by a special neighborhood police unit that works alongside private security guards.
