Austin city leaders on Thursday celebrated the hiring of Dallas police Chief Eddie García to oversee the city’s public safety operations, the fourth high-ranking official Austin has hired from Dallas since the spring.
In a memo to Austin city council members, City Manager T.C. Broadnax, who left the same role in Dallas earlier this year, said García’s “hands-on leadership style” and posture toward policing has “taken criminal elements off the streets in an unbiased way” and reduced crime.
“Please join me in welcoming Eddie to the city,” Broadnax wrote in the memo obtained by The Dallas Morning News. The memo states García starts in Austin on Nov. 4.
The position García is assuming is currently vacant. He will oversee the operations of seven departments: Austin Fire, Austin Police, Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services, Downtown Austin Community Court, Forensic Science, and Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The seven departments are currently reporting to Austin Deputy City Manager Jon Fortune, a former Dallas deputy city manager who left within weeks of Broadnax’s departure for Austin. Broadnax’s chief of staff when he was in Dallas, Genesis D. Gavino, also joined the city of Austin.
The departments previously reported to Bruce Mills, a former Austin Police Department assistant chief who served as an assistant city manager in an interim capacity from March 2023 to last month.
García will oversee a police force in flux. Austin police Chief Lisa Davis started in Austin earlier this month. The city hired her from the Cincinnati Police Department. An interim had held the position since September 2023.
In a statement to The News, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said the hire was a “huge win” for the city, describing García as a “seasoned, successful leader” who brings 30 years of public safety experience.
Austin council member José “Chito” Vela echoed the praise, saying he looked forward to working with García and had been pleased with Broadnax and Fortune’s performance thus far.
“Chief García has an excellent reputation,” Vela said. “To get that kind of team together here just makes me very optimistic about the future of public safety in Austin.”
In an emailed statement, Austin council member Zohaib “Zo” Qadri welcomed the experience García would bring to the city. He added: “I hope we will be able to work together to make our City safer while still upholding the values of transparency, accountability and progressive reform that Austin voters have supported.”
García is heading to Austin as the city and the Austin Police Association have been without a contract for more than a year. The negotiations partially hinge on a court fight over whether the city could implement a 2023 voter-approved initiative marketed as increasing police transparency and oversight.
As part of the ballot measure, Austin police would discontinue using the “g-file,” a category of confidential personnel records for police and fire departments. Earlier this month, a Travis County judge ordered city and police leaders to stop the practice, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
