Former San Jose Police Department Chief Eddie Garcia has been named the new chief of the Dallas Police Department, officials announced Wednesday.
Garcia, who recently retired from his San Jose post, will become Dallas' 30th chief of police and the first Latino to hold the position, officials said. He is expected to start the job on Feb. 3, 2021.
"I'm truly humbled by the thought of wearing the DPD uniform and working alongside such an amazing group of committed men and women," Garcia said in a statement. "Together in partnership and collaboration with the Dallas community, we will meet the challenges of today and beyond."
After nearly 30 years with the South Bay department and being credited with rebuilding it after pension reform and an exodus of officers, Garcia's last day was Dec. 12.
"We had a lot of successes in our time here, not only in the almost 29 years I've been here but also in the five years I've been chief," Garcia told NBC Bay Area, speaking still as the San Jose chief. "We've had areas where we can improve; we've made mistakes. But we learned from them, and we'll continue to learn from them, and we will get better as an organization."
Garcia was among seven finalists named from a pool of 36 applicants for the Dallas job.
"I'm humbled to be one of seven finalists for this position," he continued, "and there is no way that I would even be in this position if not for the men and women that work in this police department."
Garcia came to San Jose as a young boy from Puerto Rico and eventually became police chief of the 10th largest city in the country. He was hired by the department in February 1992 and became the department's acting chief on Jan. 19, 2016, following the retirement of former chief Larry Esquivel. Garcia was later confirmed as the chief on March 1, 2016.
