Dallas police chief, Eddie Garcia, has been elected as the president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), a group of police executives representing many of the largest cities across Canada and the United States.
The MCCA consists of law enforcement agency leaders from cities including Los Angeles, Houston, El Paso, Denver, Chicago, San Antonio, Austin, and New York City, among others.
Eddie Garcia was inaugurated as Dallas’s 30th police chief on February 3, 2021, after serving 29 years in the San Jose Police Department.
In response to his new position, Garcia said he feels “honored to serve as president, working together to move the organization forward, to bring awareness to the issues important to us as law enforcement and our communities.”
As the new president of the MCCA, he is responsible for an organization that brings law enforcement leaders together “to share ideas, experiences and strategies.”
“The MCCA provides a collaborative forum for the advancement of public safety through innovation, research, policy development, government engagement, community outreach, and leadership development,” according to the MCCA website.
In the past, Garcia has represented the MCCA on a national scale. He testified for the organization before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee in March, where he advocated for federal prosecutions, resources for law enforcement, and more funding and grants to combat violent crime nationwide.
In a statement to the Dallas Police Department, Garcia said that the new position does not change his commitment to the police department or to the City of Dallas, a city that has seen an increase in murders and armed robberies compared to this same point in 2021. He also added that the position is not a personal win for him alone but a win for the city and the police department.
Eddie Garcia will be sworn in at the MCCA Annual Meeting, which will take place in Dallas from October 12-15.