|
Dallas – City Manager T.C. Broadnax Wednesday announced that Eddie Garcia will become Dallas’ 30th Chief of Police, making him the first Latino to preside over the ninth largest police department in the country. Garcia began his career with the San Jose Police Department in 1992 and has served as its Chief since 2016.
“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.” said Garcia. “I’m truly humbled by the thought of wearing the DPD uniform and working alongside such an 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.”
More than 55 community and business organizations participated in panel interviews of the top seven candidates.
“I’m pleased to see this inclusive, equitable and transparent process culminate successfully with the hire of Chief Garcia,” said Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax. “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.”
Chief Garcia holds a bachelor’s degree from Union Institute and University. Since he started as an officer in February 1992 in San Jose, the nation’s 10th most populous city, he worked in the Patrol, Narcotics, Special Operations - M.E.R.G.E (Mobile Emergency Response Group and Equipment) unit; was a patrol sergeant, night detective and homicide investigator; and commanded the Community Services Division and the Special Investigations Unit.
During Chief Garcia’s tenure in San Jose he led initiatives to help build community trust; increase transparency; and embrace fair, impartial, and constitutional policing. Among the department’s successes they implemented basic Spanish in the police academy, launched a Spanish language Facebook page and significantly increased minority recruiting.
Garcia is expected to begin his duties as Police Chief on February 3, 2021.
City Manager T.C. Broadnax and Chief Garcia will take questions from the news media at 2 p.m. CST on Monday, Dec. 28 in a virtual press conference which will be broadcast on Spectrum 16 and AT&T U-Verse 95, bit.ly/cityofdallastv and YouTube.com/cityofdallascityhall.
Note to members of the media: RSVP for the virtual media roundtable by emailing the name and email address of the journalist attending the event to media@dallascityhall.com by 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 28. Only one registration per media entity will be accepted. Credentials will be issued by noon on Monday, Dec. 28. The credentials will include a unique registration link valid for only one participant. For those unable to attend, a recording will be posted Monday evening on YouTube.com/cityofdallascityhall.
|
