FORT WORTH — Eddie García stepped into view of the cameras in City Hall’s lobby, his navy suit crisp, a pin of this city’s trademark “Molly” longhorn gleaming on his lapel.
The former Dallas police chief, who left North Texas last year to trade his police uniform for a suit as Austin’s assistant city manager overseeing public safety agencies, vowed at the Friday morning news conference to lead his new department’s rank-and-file with integrity and accountability and work “tirelessly” on behalf of the city’s residents.
García’s swift return to policing comes less than a year after he retired from the chief post in Dallas, where city leaders had fought to keep him — even promising to keep him the highest-paid chief in Texas. He ultimately left for Austin to join former Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax, who had taken the top job at Austin City Hall months earlier.
In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, García acknowledged how some in Dallas could be puzzled by his return to lead a different agency in the same position he had held.
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“I cannot tell you how incredibly grateful I am for the sacrifices of the men and women of the Dallas Police Department,” he said, later adding, “I know that there might be frustration, but I know in their hearts, they know that I love them as a department. I still do.”
“We are partners here in the D-FW area,” he said.
Former Dallas police Chief Eddie García is introduced as Fort Worth’s new police chief at Fort Worth City Hall
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García is expected to begin his role as police chief on Sept. 22, pending a City Council vote scheduled for Sept. 18, according to Sana Syed, a city spokesperson.
Making his first public remarks since his appointment was announced Thursday, García emphasized at the news conference he was committed to improving public safety, community engagement and growing the department. He said he would take a “ferocious” approach to recruitment.
García led the Dallas police for about 3½ years. Before that, he spent about 30 years with the San Jose Police Department, rising through its ranks before leaving as its chief. His appointment in Dallas made him the city’s first Latino police chief.
In that time, he built a national profile as a law enforcement leader, gaining attention for a focus on data-driven policing, community engagement and efforts to rebuild trust between officers and the public.
“Every resident in this city deserves to feel safe in their home, in their neighborhoods and our streets. You will be treated with dignity and respect by your police department,” García said during the news conference. “We will work to earn and maintain more trust every single day.”
García was selected from a pool of 50 other applicants, beating out two finalists: interim Chief Robert Alldredge, who has worked for 26 years at the Fort Worth Police Department, and Vernon Hale, a former Dallas deputy chief who led the Galveston Police Department and later served as an assistant chief in Maryland.
A fourth finalist, Emada Tingirides, a deputy chief with the Los Angeles Police Department, withdrew after receiving a promotion.
Fort Worth city leaders, including Mayor Mattie Parker and City Manager Jesus “Jay” Chapa, who made the final selection, celebrated García’s hire and touted the process that informed the decision.
Parker described García as a “tested and proven” leader with a record of building relationships with communities with transparency while also maintaining relationships with his officers.
Parker and Chapa both thanked Alldredge, who was tapped to oversee the department as interim chief after the former chief, Neil Noakes, retired in May.
García said his rationale for leaving Dallas — which was partly informed by wanting to move closer to his son and newly born grandson — felt right at the time, but he began missing being more directly involved in leading a department.
Former Fort Worth police Chief Neil Noakes gives Fort Worth Community Engagement Unit Officer Tracy Darty a hug before new Fort Worth police Chief Eddie García was introduced during a press conference at Fort Worth City Hall, August 22, 2025.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
Related:Fort Worth police Chief Neil Noakes to retire after 25 years with the department
In Dallas, García’s base salary was bumped to $306,440 annually when reports surfaced he was being courted by Austin and Houston, both of which had interim leaders running their police departments.
In Austin, he started with a base salary of $327,600, according to employment records obtained in a records request by The News.
Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, one of the city leaders who fought to keep García in Dallas, tapped Chief Daniel Comeaux to lead the department in April.
Comeaux came to Dallas after most recently serving as the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Houston Field Division.
Syed declined to disclose García’s salary for the new role, saying the terms were being processed Friday and would be released at a later date.
García told The News he was eager to start in Fort Worth, describing it as one of the “most supportive” cities for police officers in the country. He said the opening left by Noakes felt like the “stars aligned,” an opportunity too good to pass up.
And though his time as Austin’s assistant city manager was brief, García said he was “incredibly grateful” for the time there and was walking away with experiences that would make him a more effective police chief in Fort Worth.
“At the end of the day,” he explained, “I feel that I have more to give the law enforcement profession. I wanted to come back. And so I’m just honored that they had me back.”