Dallas police Chief Eddie García’s tenure as the city’s top cop started Feb. 3, 2021 — a year ago this week.
From disciplining an officer accused of ordering the slayings of two people to handling the deletion of 8 million police files, the chief has faced a fair share of tests since he took the helm.
Here are the major events during his first year.
Feb. 3, 2021 — First official day as chief.
Feb. 13 — Dallas police Officer Mitchell Penton is killed when a suspected drunken driver hits his squad car while he’s working a traffic crash.
March 9 — García fires Officer Bryan Riser, who was accused of ordering the killings of two people. Riser is arrested and a judge later rules there isn’t enough evidence to hold him. The investigation into Riser continues.
May 7 — The chief launches his violent-crime plan and receives a warm response.
June 3 — García overturns vice unit disciplinary decisions made by his predecessor.
Aug. 11 — It becomes publicly known that 22 terabytes of police data were deleted by a city employee and the loss could impact criminal cases.
Aug. 23 — García publicly stands by an officer who had pulled over and detained Angela West, the wife of Republican Texas gubernatorial candidate Allen West. Tests later show Angela West was not intoxicated.
Sept. 22 — The Dallas City Council budgets about $565.9 million overall for the Police Department, which includes $28 million for overtime and plans to hire 500 officers by September 2023.
Oct. 11 — The city and police launch a new family violence reduction plan.
Oct. 12 — Police announce a new early warning system to flag officers who may need help.
Oct. 14 — García suspends for 45 days without pay Officer Branson Grisham, who shot at an unarmed man who had his hands raised in the air. The man wasn’t struck and no one was injured in the incident.
Nov. 5 — An anonymous hacker claims to have received hundreds of hours of mostly Dallas police aerial surveillance footage in a breach.
Nov. 8 — García stands by the city’s decision to redact complainant information from public police reports.
Nov. 12 — A Dallas County grand jury declines to indict Sgt. Roger Rudloff, who was photographed shooting pepper balls into the breast of a George Floyd protester. Rudloff remains on the force.
Dec. 31 — Year-end stats show the violent crime rate fell about 9% in Dallas.
Jan. 25 — García fires Melvin Williams, a SWAT officer caught on video punching a man in Deep Ellum.
Jan. 26 — The City Council approves the purchase of a $1.4 million program that would evaluate officers’ use of force and provide the data in a public dashboard.
Jan. 26 — The council unanimously votes in favor of the department’s proposal to make strip clubs and other sexually oriented businesses close between 2 and 6 a.m.
