Eddie García was entrusted to reduce violent crime, restore community trust and boost the Dallas Police Department’s morale when he was selected as the city’s new chief at the end of 2020.
A year later, spirits are higher at City Hall even as other challenges remain and activists seek more change.
Here are seven things to know about Dallas’ top cop and his first year on the job.
1. Dallas’ violent crime rate dropped during García’s first year.
García’s primary mandate was to reduce violent crime. So far, he’s been credited with doing just that — violence dropped in Dallas about 9% in 2021. He credits the work of his officers.
In 2020, Dallas police recorded 254 murders, the city’s highest number in more than a decade. In 2021, the city had 220 murders — still higher than about 198 in 2019 and 155 in 2018, but an improvement, particularly at a time when many cities nationwide confronted an uptick in homicides and violent-crime rates.
Dallas police also recorded 7,959 aggravated assaults, down from 8,076 in 2020. There were 2,481 robberies, a significant decrease from the 3,494 the year before.
García’s violent-crime reduction plan, launched May 7, is based on the belief that small pockets of the city account for a disproportionate number of crimes.
Police focused resources in 51 “hot spots” — 330-foot-by-330-foot grids where rates of violence are high — by increasing general law-enforcement visibility and surveilling, deterring and arresting repeat offenders.
Dallas police are now preparing to enter the next phase of the chief’s crime plan, which centers on locating criminal networks and disrupting them.
2. The City Council boosted the police overtime budget to $28 million.
There was little talk in City Hall this past year of “defunding” the police, a slogan that peaked in 2020 in response to the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans.
The City Council reversed cuts it had made in 2020 to the police overtime budget. Overtime was boosted to $28 million from the $17 million allotted the previous fiscal year.
Overall, the city budgeted about $565.9 million for the department this fiscal year.
3. García is seen as less of a disciplinarian and more of a collaborator.
Police association leaders and commanders said García has seemed fairer and more open to communication than past chiefs when it comes to disciplining officers. Some critics believe he could be tougher on his officers. Here are a few of his most well-known decisions:
- He fired former Officer Bryan Riser, who was accused of ordering the killings of two people. Riser was arrested but a judge said police didn’t have enough evidence to hold him in jail.
- Four months into the job, García overturned disciplinary decisions made by his predecessor against members of the vice unit, who were accused of improperly handling evidence and misusing money.
- In October, he suspended Officer Branson Grisham for 45 days without pay for shooting at — but missing — an unarmed man.
- In late January, García fired Sr. Cpl. Melvin Williams, who was caught on video repeatedly punching a man during a brawl in Deep Ellum last summer.
4. He’s a Cowboys fan and has cherished tattoos down both of his arms.
García’s trademark tattoos pay tribute to his home of Puerto Rico, the Bible, law enforcement and family.
5. García has made some strides on transparency, but also encountered criticism.
In October, the city of Dallas redacted complainant information from public police reports without community input — data that had previously been searchable and readily available for years. García stood by the redactions, which had stoked concerns from media, some community members and a council member.
There also haven’t appeared to be any improvements in fulfilling open-records requests, which police often send to Attorney General Ken Paxton, delaying or preventing the release of information.
However, García is overseeing the launch of a program that’ll provide use-of-force information in a public dashboard, which he called “the pinnacle of transparency.”
6. Police are trying to replenish ranks and improve response times.
Several Dallas police leaders believe that morale has soared in the department. The boost has been key at a time when the department has been desperately trying to replenish its ranks and improve response times.
The department has about 3,100 officers. About 3,500 to 3,600 officers worked in the department years ago, but hundreds left during a pension crisis in 2016-17.
City leaders outlined plans to hire 500 officers by September 2023. Factoring in attrition, García said he expects a net gain of about 100 officers during that period.
The department’s response times to priority 1 calls also had raised concerns among council members over the past year. García has said that hiring more officers will improve response times.
But he added that he can’t assimilate 500 officers in one day — the department has to “grow responsibly.” He said adding more officers requires recruiters, people to run the testing processes, academy space, trainers and supervision.
“If you don’t have the infrastructure set up to do that, you’re going to fail as well,” he said. “You’re going to get yourself into trouble.”
7. He drinks water right out of a gallon jug to stay hydrated.
García keeps a gallon of water on his desk at police headquarters, which he said he drinks out of every day. He also bikes on his Peloton day and night.
