DALLAS — The Dallas Police Department will soon have a new interim chief of police.
Dallas Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert announced Friday that Dallas Police Executive Assistant Chief Michael Igo will serve as interim chief of police effective Oct. 18, replacing Eddie Garcia.
Garcia will start his new role as assistant city manager in Austin Nov. 4. His last day in Dallas is Nov. 1. The news of Garcia’s departure and retirement from law enforcement came just a few months after he’d inked a new deal to remain Dallas’ police chief.
Igo has worked for the Dallas Police Department for 33 years. He became a senior corporal in 1997 and went on to become a sergeant, lieutenant, major, deputy chief and assistant chief before he was appointed to executive assistant chief in January 2024.
“I am confident that Chief Igo will provide the Dallas Police Department with the continuity we need during this transition. His experience, trust within the community, and knowledge of the Department gives me the confidence that he is the right person at the right time for this assignment,” said Tolbert. “Chief Igo has been unwavering in his commitment to his service in uniform. He will continue the Dallas Police Department’s focus on safety, our number one priority.”
Igo also served as the liaison to City Hall and has also been credited with helping Chief Eddie Garcia with his crime plan that has lowered crime in Dallas for the last 3 years.
He's popular with the rank and file and the police associations.
Garcia says he has confidence in Igo,
"The department is doing very well and when a department is doing well you bring someone from within the department to run it. Chief Igo is an excellent choice," said Garcia.
Igo has a Bachelor of Science degree in Commercial Economics from South Dakota University, completed the inaugural Sergeant Series Leadership School and Lieutenant Series Leadership School from the Caruth Police Institute, in addition to the FBI Command College at the University of Texas, Law Enforcement Management Institute of North Texas at Texas A&M University, and the Senior Management Institute for Police.
“It is an honor to be named as Interim Dallas Police Chief. I want to thank Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert for this assignment and her confidence in me,” said Igo. “For the last three decades, I have remained committed to the safety of this great City and its residents. I look forward to serving in this new capacity and will continue prioritizing crime reduction, and recruiting the best and brightest that this country has to offer.”
Garcia became Dallas’ first Latino police chief in 2021. He previously served as the police chief in San Jose, Calif., where he had spent nearly 30 years with the department.
The Dallas Police Department has two executive chiefs – Igo and Chief Monique Alex.
