DALLAS — More than 30 years ago, Chief Mike Igo came to visit his sister in Dallas, decided to stay, joined the Dallas Police Department, and spent 33 years working in almost every division from patrol to vice to internal affairs.
And now, he is the interim police chief.
"My job where I sit now is to maintain the standards at the department," said Chief Igo.
Chief Igo says he's not planning to try and fix things that aren't broken so he's sticking to former DPD Chief Eddie Garcia's violent crime plan.
"I have no plans on scraping the crime plan, it's going on its fourth year. It's been successful. In fact, at the end of last month, we were down approximately 27% in homicides which resulted in 53 fewer victims. So, it's a crime plan that's working."
Watch the full interview with Interim Chief Mike Igo below
Senior Crime and Justice Reporter Rebecca Lopez asked "What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the Dallas Police Department right now?"
"I'm very proud of where we are in hiring, but however I'm a little concerned about our attrition rates. Our officers at the 1 to 5-year mark are leaving at a little bit higher rate than I am comfortable with," said Chief Igo.
So he says he'll focus on trying to keep officers by offering incentives for them to stay and focus on recruiting locally and across the state.
Chief Igo says he wants to make sure officers get recognition when they do the right thing but also hold those accountable who step out of line. He spent years in internal affairs and led some of the department's biggest internal investigations.
"Our officers are here and go through the same issues that people not involved in law enforcement go through as well, whether it's personal issues, family issues, work issues, whatever the case, I think there's a difference between making a mistake that was not intentional versus making a mistake that was intentional and those mistakes that were not intentional, can often be corrected with minor discipline and corrective action. Those that are intentional I will hold those officers accountable," said Chief Igo.
He says he also wants strong relationships with the community and activists who are concerned about transparency.
"I think we need to realize that the policing has changed and those activists, the community stakeholders, those community navigators are important for the success of reducing crime in our communities," said Chief Igo.
Several years ago Chief Igo had to undergo cancer treatments and says that struggle changed his life.
"I went through some serious health issues a couple of years ago, and fought through it... and it was a long recovery. But I think once you go through those things,, it does make you stronger on the other end."
He says spending time with his family brings him the most happiness and enjoys the outdoors but unlike Chief Garcia, Chief Igo says he's not a huge Cowboys fan.
"I'm a Steelers fan and I usually get a lot of texts on Sunday but I'm ok with that, When the Steelers lost against the Cowboys a few weeks ago I heard about that," said Igo.
Chief Igo says he hasn't decided if he will apply for the full-time job.