7 Highlights From Chief Eddie Garcia’s Dallas Police Career

Police leaders say Chief Eddie Garcia’s impact can’t be reduced to a single event in Dallas. During his three years in office, he oversaw a decline in arrests for minor offenses, implemented pyramid promotion schemes involving his officers and created a new constitutional policing unit.

As he prepares to leave for Austin, community members and officials have begun to reflect on the changes, decisions and tests that have been pivotal since the chief arrived from San Jose, California.

Here are seven highlights from Garcia’s career in Dallas.

Related:Chief Eddie Garcia Retires From Dallas Police Department To Become Austin Deputy City Manager

1. Garcia fires Officer Bryan Riser, charged with capital murder

One of his first major tests came shortly after he arrived in Dallas.

In his second month here, Garcia fired Officer Bryan Riser, who was accused of ordering the killings of two people. Riser had been jailed by his department on capital murder charges in the 2017 killings of Albert Douglas and Liza Saenz.

The allegations have circulated across the country. García has called for an end to a war of words amid accusations over who was responsible for keeping Riser on the force after he was designated a person of interest.

A month after Riser’s arrest, a judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to keep him in prison. García promised to continue investigating him, but Riser was not imprisoned again for the crime.

Riser recently settled with the city.

2. Announcement of its plan to combat violent crime

In May 2021, García announced the plan that would become the foundation of his career in Dallas.

Created in collaboration with two criminologists from the University of Texas at San Antonio, the plan is based on the belief that small areas of the city are responsible for a disproportionate share of its violence. It focuses on three strategies called “hot-spot policing,” “local area network investigations” and “targeted deterrence.”

Since the plan was put in place, violent crime has declined every year in Dallas. City and police officials have attributed the annual declines to the strategies.

So far in 2024, this trend has continued.

Related:Crime Fighting: Violence to Drop in Dallas in 2024 as Police Target ‘High-Risk’ Areas

3. Overthrow the discipline of the unity of vices

Four months into his tenure, Garcia overturned Chief U. Reneé Hall’s disciplinary orders against members of the vice unit who were accused of mishandling evidence and embezzling money.

Hall disciplined 22 members of the department’s vice unit, which handles crimes related to prostitution and gambling. After a three-year investigation, the department’s unit that investigates city employees for possible criminal misconduct determined there was insufficient evidence to warrant criminal charges.

The officers were nevertheless suspended without pay, a decision they later appealed.

Police association leaders publicly welcomed Garcia’s decision to rescind the disciplinary measure, which they saw as an early sign that the chief would be fair in his accountability.

4. He was the first leader to apologize to Santos Rodriguez’s family

Nearly five decades had passed since a Dallas police officer killed 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez. In July 2021, his family heard the first apology from a Dallas police chief.

Officer Darrell Cain played Russian roulette with Santos’ life over the $8 ATM robbery. Santos’ 13-year-old brother, David, was also dragged out of bed for questioning. Cain shot Santos in the head after the boy repeated that he was innocent.

Related:Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia apologizes to mother of Santos Rodriguez, who was killed by a police officer in 1973

Cain was convicted of murder with malicious intent and sentenced to five years in prison, but served only half of it. For years, Rodriguez’s mother said no one apologized to her or her family for that night.

“On behalf of the Dallas Police Department, as your father, I am sorry,” García told him in 2021. “We are sorry that someone who was trusted to protect you, someone who wore the same uniform that I proudly wear today, took your son and took David’s brother by murder.”

Rodriguez’s death galvanized the Mexican-American community in support of change. The chief’s apology is a testament to his ability to bridge the gap with Hispanic communities — a hope officials expressed when he took over the Dallas Police Department as its first Latino leader.

5. Garcia helps the DPD win political victories, especially on controversial issues

City council members approved most of Garcia’s requests during his tenure as police chief, even when they involved controversial issues.

In January 2022, the council unanimously approved the department’s proposal to close strip clubs and other sexually oriented businesses between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. The measure sparked an outcry from some community members, workers and businesses. García and police officials argued it would help make the community safer.

The political victory appears to illustrate the police chief’s continued influence at City Hall. He also managed to secure more funding for the police budget.

6. The leader oversees the creation of a wellness unit

García has spoken openly about efforts to improve officer well-being, saying during his second year in Dallas that a new unit he approved to improve mental health aims to destigmatize “take it easy” mentalities within law enforcement.

The wellness initiative involves conducting phone “check-ins” with officers after they’ve been involved in serious incidents, sending them a monthly newsletter highlighting mental health resources, conducting investigations, providing training and setting up a full-time unit. It quickly paid off, helping officers deal with two suicides and other unexpected deaths.

The idea has drawn widespread praise and has been replicated elsewhere, attracting the attention of law enforcement officials in other agencies across the country, police officials said.

7. Death of Officer Darron Burks

Dallas police are still grieving the brutal Aug. 29 attack on Officer Darron Burks, a former math teacher who was shot while sitting in his patrol car in southeast Oak Cliff, the chief said. Two other officers came to check on Burks and were shot and wounded by the same assailant.

The shooter was pursued to Lewisville, where he was fatally shot by at least six Dallas police officers.

García was out of town when the attack took place, but he quickly returned to Dallas and held an emotional news conference the next day, during which he called the shooting a “premeditated execution.”

The chief spent time with Burks’ mother in the days following her son’s death and shared a passionate tribute to the patrol officer during a packed funeral service.