{"id":147761,"date":"2025-08-15T12:11:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T12:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/147761\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T12:11:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T12:11:17","slug":"3-finalists-for-fort-worths-top-cop-including-ex-dallas-chief-make-pitches-for-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/147761\/","title":{"rendered":"3 finalists for Fort Worth\u2019s top cop, including ex-Dallas chief, make pitches for job"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Dallas police chief Eddie Garc\u00eda<\/a> said he realized he was \u201cborn to be a police officer\u201d and wanted to be closer to family while explaining his decision to apply to be Fort Worth\u2019s top cop less than a year after leaving Dallas for a city management job<\/a> in Austin.<\/p>\n

Garc\u00eda is one of three finalists<\/a> for the Fort Worth Police Department\u2019s chief position, along with interim Chief Robert Alldredge and Vernon Hale, a former Dallas deputy chief who now works in Maryland. <\/p>\n

The three are vying to fill a position that has been vacant since May, when Chief Neil Noakes retired<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The finalists met with several hundred Fort Worth residents Thursday evening at Fort Worth City Hall before participating in a panel moderated by Dia Wall, a reporter with WFAA-TV (Channel 8). During the meet-and-greet, participants lined up to shake hands, take pictures and chat with each of the finalists.<\/p>\n

Breaking News<\/p>\n

Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond.<\/p>\n

During the panel, the three law enforcement officers were asked questions submitted ahead of time by residents about their plans for building trust in the community, how they would reduce crime and their commitment to Fort Worth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related:What to know about Eddie Garc\u00eda, the ex-DPD chief who may come back to North Texas<\/a>Familiar face returns to North Texas<\/p>\n

Garc\u00eda is currently an assistant city manager in Austin. He led the Dallas police department for about 3\u00bd years. Before that, he spent about 30 years with the San Jose Police Department, leaving as its chief.<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former Dallas police chief Eddie Garc\u00eda speaks attendees during a finalists meet-and-greet before the Fort Worth Police Chief Finalists Forum, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Fort Worth. <\/p>\n

Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

During his tenure in Dallas, Garc\u00eda was a popular figure<\/a> among the community, city leadership and even beyond Dallas. In 2022, he was elected president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Garc\u00eda was succeeded as DPD chief in April by Daniel Comeaux<\/a>, who was formerly the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration\u2019s Houston Field Division.<\/p>\n

At the forum Thursday, Garcia said his time in Austin taught him a lot about city management and the other side of running a police department. But over the last eight months, he realized he was \u201cborn to be a police officer\u201d and that he wanted to return to North Texas to be closer to his mother and daughter, who both live in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, I\u2019m a cop,\u201d Garc\u00eda said. \u201cWhen I saw this opportunity come, it was a great opportunity for an amazing city that supports its police officers, but also holds their officers accountable as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garc\u00eda said he wanted to focus on proactive policing if chosen for the position, as he called police departments the \u201cTylenol\u201d for addressing violent crime and said he wants to address the root causes of crime. <\/p>\n

Related:Pouring love into community can curb violence rates in Dallas, nonprofit leader says<\/a><\/p>\n

He also said he planned on being active in the community and would avoid being a \u201csit in my office\u201d type of chief.<\/p>\n

When asked why he should be the next chief of police in Fort Worth, Garc\u00eda pointed to his resume of having previously led two large-city police departments in San Jose and Dallas.<\/p>\n

Current interim chief wants job permanently<\/p>\n

Alldredge, currently Fort Worth\u2019s interim chief<\/a>, was previously an executive assistant chief with the department, where he has served since 1999. He has over 30 years of law enforcement experience, according to a biography on the city of Fort Worth\u2019s website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/p>\n

Robert Alldredge, the interim chief of the Fort Worth Police Department, speaks attendees during a finalists meet-and-greet before the Fort Worth Police Chief Finalists Forum, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Fort Worth. <\/p>\n

Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Alldredge said he initially wasn\u2019t looking to become chief of the department when the posting opened, but said he loves the community and wanted to continue his commitment to Fort Worth. <\/p>\n

Among his priorities for the department, Alldredge said he would aim to listen to community needs, be transparent and build relationships with community leaders proactively, not just if the need arises. He also said he planned to recruit diverse officer candidates and continue efforts made within the department toward upholding officer\u2019s mental well-being.<\/p>\n

Related:For domestic violence survivors, Genesis shelters provide safety in North Texas<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOur officers\u2019 well-being is number one,\u201d Alldredge said. \u201cIt is our greatest resource, and if we do not take care of them, then we\u2019re doing something terribly wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked why he should be the next chief, Alldredge said his vast institutional knowledge of Fort Worth would help him continue to strengthen already-established relationships within the community.<\/p>\n

Maryland assistant chief vies for post<\/p>\n

Hale started with the Dallas police department in 1991 and left after 26 years to become chief of Galveston\u2019s police department. <\/p>\n

\"Vernon<\/p>\n

Vernon Hale, a former Dallas deputy chief who now works as an assistant chief in Prince George\u2019s County, Md., speaks attendees during a finalists meet-and-greet before the Fort Worth Police Chief Finalists Forum, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Fort Worth. <\/p>\n

Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

He would later leave that agency to join the Prince George\u2019s County Police Department in Maryland, where he would become an assistant chief. The county is immediately east of Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

As chief, Hale said he planned to reach out to community leaders upon taking the post to figure out the needs of the city. He also said he planned to be a fixture at local meetings and town halls in order to build relationships within the city.<\/p>\n

Hale said his experience leading departments through crises would make him a good choice for chief. Hale said he was an acting bureau commander during the July 2016 shooting<\/a> of five police officers in downtown Dallas.<\/p>\n

A Fort Worth spokesperson previously said City Manager Jesus \u201cJay\u201d Chapa planned to make a final hiring decision before Labor Day<\/a>. Chapa said Thursday the city would take residents\u2019 feedback into account as he makes a decision.<\/p>\n

Related:South Oak Cliff\u2019s principal talks solutions for rising teen violence in Dallas<\/a>Three current finalists from a field of dozens<\/p>\n

Four finalists for the position were announced last month<\/a>, before the field narrowed to three after Emada Tingirides, a deputy chief with the Los Angeles Police Department, withdrew her application from consideration. The finalists were chosen from 51 applicants from 15 states. <\/p>\n

Garc\u00eda\u2019s announcement as a finalist was an about-face for the 33-year law enforcement veteran, as he previously indicated Dallas would be his last stop as a cop and that he wanted to follow former Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax<\/a> to Austin.<\/p>\n

Garc\u00eda previously said his decision to leave Dallas was mostly linked to a \u201cwindow of opportunity\u201d that arose when a position overseeing Austin\u2019s public safety departments opened last year.<\/p>\n

Garc\u00eda being named a finalist came with some controversy, as he submitted his application after a June 4 deadline, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. He applied on June 9, the Star-Telegram reported.<\/p>\n

Related:Exclusive: Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garc\u00eda says, \u2018I\u2019m leaving on my terms\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

In a statement to The Dallas Morning News after the announcement, Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert congratulated Garc\u00eda and the other candidates for being named finalists.<\/p>\n

\u201cCity Manager Jay Chapa and I share in the sentiment that public safety is a top priority to keep the region and its communities thriving,\u201d she said. \u201cI wish all of the finalists much success!\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the city of Austin declined comment Thursday when asked about Garc\u00eda being a finalist.<\/p>\n

Less than a year ago, Garc\u00eda left his post as chief<\/a> of the Dallas police department for an assistant city manager role in Austin overseeing public safety. His departure came as a shock to many at Dallas City Hall<\/a>, as it came months after city officials made efforts to keep Garc\u00eda in Dallas, which included making him one of the highest-paid police chiefs in the state<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the months before his departure, Garc\u00eda himself even seemed to hint that he planned to stay in Dallas, telling The News that it was \u201chis intent\u201d to stay until at least May 2027<\/a> and writing in a social media post \u201cHome=@DallasPD<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of his retirement<\/a>, Garc\u00eda also seemed to suggest that Dallas would be his last stint as a police officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf 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,\u201d Garc\u00eda said, \u201cthe last badge that\u2019s going to be on there is Dallas police.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Dallas police chief Eddie Garc\u00eda said he realized he was \u201cborn to be a police officer\u201d and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":147762,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,4219,1596,14841,14842,47193,7371,7372,8629,5292,7375,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-147761","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-crime","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-city-hall","12":"tag-dallas-police","13":"tag-eddie-garcia","14":"tag-fort-worth","15":"tag-fortworth","16":"tag-local-politics","17":"tag-public-safety","18":"tag-tarrant-county","19":"tag-texas","20":"tag-tx","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115032718232484844","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}