Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia set to retire to become Austin assistant city manager

Dallas Police Department Chief Eddie Garcia announced his resignation Thursday, saying he is retiring from law enforcement, according to officials’ statements and documents obtained by media sources.

Garcia plans on becoming an assistant city manager for the City of Austin, Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV reported. The police chief was appointed to the position in Central Texas to oversee the city’s public safety departments, including police, fire and emergency services, according to a memorandum from Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax, obtained by WFAA.

In a memorandum sent by Garcia to Dallas police command staff and City Council members, the chief said leaving the police department was not an easy choice.

“Deciding to step away from this profession has been one of the most challenging decisions of my life,” Garcia wrote in the document.

While Garcia did not share his last day as Dallas’ police chief, Broadnax said his new position will take effect Nov. 4. Garcia said in his resignation notice that he would share more information in the days to come.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert issued a statement in response to Garcia’s resignation, extending their gratitude for his efforts.

“We are immensely grateful to Chief Garcia for his dedicated service and unwavering commitment to the safety of our residents. While we are sorry to see him go, we also know that big city police chiefs never stick around forever,” the statement reads. “We are fortunate to have had a capable, committed, experienced, and innovative police chief these last three and a half years.”

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According to Johnson and Tolbert, the city of Dallas saw a decrease in violent crime during Garcia’s three year-long tenure as the police chief, leading to his national recognition.

Johnson and Tolbert said they are going to focus on finding a new police chief to achieve the goal of making Dallas a safer city.

Garcia’s departure from the police department comes after Tolbert worked on a deal for the chief to stay in Dallas until at least mid-2027, promising to keep him among the highest-paid police chiefs in major cities in Texas, according to the Dallas Morning News. He was offered a $306,440.40 base salary and $10,000 retention bonus every six months, the DMN reported.

Although, the addendum of the chief’s offer letter did not show a formal agreement made between Garcia and Tolbert regarding a plan to stay until 2027, according to the DMN.

The only mention of the mid-2027 date in the document said Garcia would receive severance pay if he were fired without cause or ordered by the city manager to resign before then.

While Garcia did not formally accept the offer, he told the DMN in June that he intended on staying in Dallas.

“I am excited to welcome Mr. Garcia as our new Assistant City Manager over public safety. His extensive experience and deep commitment to the communities he serves makes him the ideal leader to join my executive team,” Broadnax said in the memorandum.

Broadnax was previously the city manager in Dallas and hired Garcia as police chief during his tenure.