HOUSTON — With news of Troy Finner's retirement amid the 'lack of personnel' code scandal, speculation has been swirling around who the next chief would be.
On Wednesday, sources told our sister station, WFAA, that the City of Houston had shown interest in Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia. Those sources also said that the City of Austin was interested in Garcia.
So how does Dallas feel about those reports? Dallas interim city manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert didn’t’ hold back, telling Houston and Austin to “turn around and go back home.”
Here’s her full statement:
“It’s no surprise that other Texas cities are expressing interest in Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia. He has been the key leader who has delivered a lower crime rate to Dallas, and he has helped increase police morale while boosting residents’ confidence in the direction of the department.
"Obviously, City Council members and I want to keep him in Dallas doing a good job. It will take flexibility, creativity with a hefty dose of accountability to accomplish that, but we are working tirelessly to develop solutions. I believe Chief Garcia wants to remain here.
"To the cities shopping in Dallas for a new chief, I have one message for you: ‘turn around and go back home.’ In the meantime, I will keep the City Council and the public informed about the progress on these issues.”
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But is Houston courting Garcia?
KHOU 11 reached out to the City of Houston. Here’s how they answered.
“Mayor Whitmire wants to improve morale at HPD, get the department out of the media headlines and return to a focus on public safety. He is confident Acting Chief Satterwhite will be a strong leader and it is too soon to discuss the next steps in finding a new police chief.”
Who is Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia?
So who is Edgardo Garcia? He was hired as chief in Dallas in 2021 and is currently employed in an at-will capacity, meaning he can leave at any time. The City of Dallas may need to offer a contract to stay, according to WFAA’s sources.
The interest from Austin, according to WFAA, is because the police chief position has been open since August, when Joseph Chacon retired. It could also be attractive for Garcia because former Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax is now the city manager there. Broadnax hired Garcia in Dallas, according to WFAA.
WFAA reports that under Garcia, violent crime in the city has been down for three consecutive years and is now at its lowest point in six years.
Before Garcia was in Dallas, he was chief of the San Jose Police Department in Puerto Rico from 2016 to 2020. That’s where he's originally from and where he started his law enforcement career.
Larry Satterwhite is serving as the interim police chief while the search for a permanent replacement goes on.
Background of Houston Police Department 'lack of personnel' code cases
Finner's departure came amid the scandal surrounding the "lack of personnel" code that led to the suspension of thousands of cases. Below is KHOU 11's coverage on the code and the cases.
- May 7: Houston Mayor John Whitmire accepts Chief Finner's retirement
- May 7: KHOU 11 Investigates: HPD email shows Chief Finner knew about suspended cases code earlier than he claimed
- April 30: 45 suspects charged in HPD's review of suspended incident reports due to 'lack of personnel' code, Finner says
- April 18: ‘We remain laser-focused’ | HPD says all 4,000+ suspended adult sex crime reports have been reviewed
- April 11: KHOU 11 Investigates: 30 charges filed in HPD suspended cases
- April 8: HPD had named suspects in dozens of sex crime cases that were shelved
- April 2: Some charges filed as HPD continues to review cases suspended under department's 'lack of personnel' code, Finner says
- March 20: Independent review committee begins reviewing HPD's handling of suspended cases
- March 19: Police union calls for Houston Police Chief Troy Finner’s recusal in suspended case probe
- March 8: How does the statute of limitations impact HPD's suspended cases due to 'lack of personnel' code?
- March 7: Assaults top list of HPD cases suspended for lack of personnel
- March 7: Houston mayor calls for outside review into HPD after thousands of cases were suspended
- March 1: 2 HPD assistant chiefs demoted after hundreds of thousands of reported crimes were suspended, police officers' union says
- February 28: 'Things need to change' | Sexual assault survivors want voices to be heard
- February 28: 'I don't want to leave any victim behind' | HPD chief vows to clean up system that allowed 264,000 reported crimes to be suspended
- February 22: 'We owe them an apology' | HPD to thoroughly investigate 'suspended' sexual assault cases
- February 19: Mayor Whitmire weighs in on sexual assault cases that were suspended by Houston Police Department
- February 16: 'Should have never happened' | Houston police to review sexual assault cases that had been suspended