Exclusive: Dallas Police Chief Eddie García says, ‘I’m leaving on my terms’

In his first public remarks since confirming he’s leaving for Austin, police Chief Eddie García told The Dallas Morning News in an exclusive interview Tuesday that he has considered retiring since May but no single event precipitated his decision.

“I’m leaving on my terms,” García told The News in a 90-minute interview in his office at the Jack Evans Police Headquarters. “I don’t think people truly understand how difficult that can be for police chiefs in this era.”

García, 53, pushed back against assertions his decision was sparked by a November ballot initiative that would mandate how many officers the city needs on its police force.

“That did not play a role in me making this decision — in the least bit,” said García, who in his more than three years leading the Dallas force has overseen annual drops in violent crime.

The popular city leader hangs up his badge after more than 30 years in law enforcement to become Austin’s assistant city manager under his former boss, T.C. Broadnax. In the spring, Broadnax left the city manager’s job in Dallas to take the same position in Austin.

Last week, news of García’s departure stunned city leaders, his own command staff and the department’s rank and file. The timing frustrated García, who said he wanted to break the news himself.

“I do feel it kind of robbed me a little bit of my goodbye,” García said. “There has been a narrative portrayed because I didn’t have an opportunity to truly spell out what was going through my head.”

The chief said his decision was most linked to what he described as a “window of opportunity” that opened after the position overseeing Austin’s public safety departments became vacant in August. García signed Austin’s offer letter early last week; his last day in Dallas will be Nov. 1.

García said he has no information from Dallas’ interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert on his possible involvement in helping select the next chief.

Just four months ago, Tolbert pledged García would stay in Dallas until at least mid-2027. The city committed to keeping him among the highest-paid Texas police chiefs with a $306,440 base salary and a $10,000 retention bonus every six months. He’ll leave without collecting any of the bonuses.

The offer letter addendum does not explicitly say García committed to staying in Dallas, but he said in June “that is the intent.”

‘I can’t sugarcoat it’

He will begin his new job Nov. 4 — and questions have circulated widely about what changed between May and the sudden news of his departure.

Almost immediately after he reached the agreement with Tolbert, García said, he began thinking about retiring from law enforcement. During a recent police retirees’ banquet, the chief realized how much he envied those who had completed their service.

García began speaking weeks ago with Broadnax and former Dallas deputy city manager Jon Fortune, who also now works in Austin. He said those conversations began before the fatal shooting of Officer Darron Burks, who was killed as he sat in his squad car Aug. 29.

After decades in police work, García said he’s eager to coach and mentor leaders to be successful in a variety of public safety departments, and in the Austin job, he’ll be able to do that.

The day before the news leaked on Thursday, García said he alerted the “proper people in city management” about his decision. García declined to speculate on where the leak may have stemmed and would not specify whom he spoke to at City Hall. He said he planned to alert everyone this week.

“A career of nearly 33 years — to not have had the opportunity to proactively do it myself when that’s what my goal was, it was awful,” García said. “I can’t sugarcoat it.”

Repeatedly during the interview, García thanked his rank-and-file officers, without whom he said none of this success would’ve happened, and expressed appreciation for the trust the community placed in him. He singled out Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, saying “the support that the mayor has given has been tremendous.”

He choked up and paused for nearly a minute as he thought about how difficult the decision to leave was for him. He said he’s sure he made mistakes, but more importantly, “at least I always learned from them.”

He wants people to know that through it all, he took “personally” the task of making Dallas a safer city and establishing trust with its residents.

“If I ever have a plaque on my wall, a shadow box that has all the badges of ranks that I had from San Jose to here,” García said, “the last badge that’s going to be on there is Dallas police.”

Hanging up his badge

After García’s decision became public, some city leaders expressed concern about the timing. Dallas police continue to mourn the death of Burks. Two other officers were shot in the incident but survived.

García became emotional several times during the interview with The News. He said none of the challenges the department has faced caused him to leave. However, he said, “Darron’s murder weighed heavily,” as did every time he’s had to terminate an officer who was “a good person that made a very bad mistake.”

The real story, García said, is not about leaving Dallas for Austin but rather about retiring from a long career of police work — “hanging up my badge after almost 33 years.”

García will depart days before a November election that includes public safety charter amendments mired in controversy. Police and fire officials have also been embroiled in tense discussions with the city over how to fix a $3 billion shortfall in the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System.

Several City Council members have blamed García’s decision to leave on the proposed charter amendments brought by the nonprofit Dallas HERO. If approved by voters, one of those would mandate Dallas hire around 900 more officers.

García said he is not allowed to detail his opinion on the ballot initiatives, but said the narrative “that I’m leaving because ballot initiatives and things of that nature couldn’t be further from the truth.”

García said he understands some people are hurt that he’s leaving, but said it’s better to leave a department when it’s on a positive track — noting this is Dallas’ fourth year of violent crime reduction, improved officer morale and community trust.

“I don’t want to give the keys to a broken police department to set up the next leader here,” he said. “In this line of work, it’s better to leave the party early than leave the party late.”

He acknowledged his departure comes at a painful time, but said he increasingly thought about the importance of playing a role in the lives of his three children, who are all young adults. They may well start their own families, he said, and he didn’t “want to miss those moments.”

He said he also didn’t want the angst of feeling he’s shorting his rank-and-file officers while away with family.

“I only know how to lead one way,” García said. “There is no balance. Good, bad, or indifferent, the way I lead is — we come second, our lives come second. And anyone that says that it doesn’t, doesn’t really recognize the job.”

Asked whether he’d considered the city management role Fortune left in Dallas, García said it “would have been unfair” to the next chief. Everyone would’ve continued looking at him as police chief, he said.

Pressed on whether he would’ve stayed if Broadnax and Fortune still led Dallas, he paused for several moments and said: “You’re killing me.” Then he added: “Obviously, I probably wouldn’t be going to Austin. But it probably still would’ve been time for me to do something else.”

He stressed he “absolutely did not” change any of his leadership style after Broadnax left and still had the freedom to make his own decisions for the Dallas Police Department.

“Where I went was absolutely based on T.C. and Jon,” García said. “The fact that I left had very little to do with them not being here.”