Dallas Police Chief will retire to reunite with his old boss in Austin

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports that Dallas police Chief Eddie García once said he’d “run through a wall” for former City Manager T.C. Broadnax, but it appears he will only have to drive down Interstate 35. According to a memo from Broadnax, García will retire from the Dallas Police Department to become an assistant city manager under his former boss, where he will oversee the city’s first responders. According to that memo, his first day will be November 4. Broadnax, who left Dallas for the same job in Austin earlier this year under a cloud of acrimony, had reportedly been eyeing García for the open police chief position there. It prompted interim City Manager Kim Tolbert to tell Houston and Austin to “turn around and go back home.” And even though the city charter doesn’t allow the Council to strike a contract with the police chief, Tolbert seemed to wrangle a deal: in exchange for García’s committing to the city through May 2027, he would get a twice-annual $10,000 retention bonus beginning November 2024, as well as assurances that he would receive a year’s salary if fired “for convenience” during those three years. He will not get those bonuses or severance.

“This was complicated, but we got it done,” Tolbert said in a statement announcing the agreement. “If this was NFL Football, we were able to keep Chief García on the Dallas Team; he’s the right quarterback to lead our police department. We certainly didn’t want to lose him to free agency.” García seemed adamant about staying put. “This is the right place to complete my service, and I know your police officers are honored to serve Dallas residents,” he said. “We will keep doing our jobs with excellence and results.” On May 16, he tweeted “Home = @DallasPD.” This is the risk when a city manager bails. There is always a possibility that he’ll take his preferred employees with him. Deputy City Manager Jon Fortune was among the first to choose Austin, costing Dallas a highly respected administrator with a deep knowledge of public safety. Now it’s García, who teamed with criminologists to translate granular data into a plan that has successfully reduced violent crime in the city of Dallas each of the last four years. It’s been widely cited that Mayor Eric Johnson’s icy relationship with Broadnax forced his resignation, that their time together had grown so sour that little could be accomplished from 1500 Marilla. Now García has chosen his old boss over the city he once pledged to serve for at least five years. He made it three and a half.