The Dallas Express was the first to report that former Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia would be selected to lead the Fort Worth Police Department — and on Thursday, the city made it official.
Fort Worth City Manager Jay Chapa announced that Garcia has been chosen as the city’s next police chief, selected from a pool of more than 50 applicants to lead the nearly 1,900-officer department. The city is expected to hold a public press event on Friday morning to introduce him formally.
Garcia currently serves as an assistant city manager in Austin, where he oversees public safety. He previously served as Dallas police chief from 2021 to 2024, becoming the first Latino to lead the ninth-largest police department in the country. Before that, he spent nearly three decades in San Jose, California, including five years as police chief.
In a one-on-one interview after his 2024 resignation, Garcia said he was stepping down to prioritize family and achieve balance after more than three decades in uniform.
“I’ve been sprinting for a while, and it would have been 33 years in February,” Garcia told Fox 4. “My kids played a big role in it. They are young adults, and they are going to start families of their own and I want to be present. I wanted something with balance, because there is no balance in this job.”
Despite previously suggesting that Dallas would be the last badge he wore, Garcia’s return to policing in Fort Worth suggests the new role may offer the structure and stability he was seeking.
Garcia was selected over three other finalists: Interim Fort Worth Police Chief Robert Alldredge, LAPD Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides (who later withdrew), and former Dallas Deputy Chief Vernon Hale III, who most recently served as assistant chief in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
The Dallas Express Broke the Story — and Investigated the Process
The Dallas Express first broke the news of Garcia’s impending selection on July 15, citing exclusive sourcing from inside Fort Worth’s selection process.
A week later, DX reported that Garcia’s candidacy had sparked internal controversy, with allegations that his application was submitted after the deadline, prompting criticism from some community leaders and questions about fairness in the selection process.
Fort Worth activist Rev. Kyev Tatum called the situation “certainly unethical” and “a slap in the face to the integrity of the entire selection process.” City officials have not publicly addressed the timeline of Garcia’s application or why it was considered after the deadline closed.
Track Record and Public Safety Context
While Dallas officials praised Garcia’s leadership and credited him with helping reduce violent crime citywide, a third-party report commissioned by Downtown Dallas Inc. found violent crime in the city’s core rose 42% between 2019 and 2023. The same report showed total crime downtown increased 34% during that period — a discrepancy with broader citywide stats.
Garcia’s departure from Dallas also came months after signing a contract extension that would have kept him in place through 2027. His move to Austin included a $327,000 salary — substantially more than Fort Worth’s listed $275,000 chief salary — prompting additional questions about the sudden shift back into a lower-paying, high-profile role.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Dallas Police Department continues to face a chronic staffing shortage, operating with nearly 1,000 fewer officers than recommended by a city-commissioned analysis.