DALLAS — Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia received an emotional sendoff from the Dallas City Council Wednesday, including tears from Mayor Eric Johnson.
Garcia starts his new job as assistant city manager in Austin on Nov. 4, but former Dallas Police Executive Assistant Chief Michael Igo took over as interim police chief Friday.
At points during the farewell, both Garcia and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson became choked up, with Johnson wiping around his eyes at one point.
“I just really appreciate the opportunity you gave this kid and I am so glad that the last badge that I will wear (says Dallas Police) and the happiness that I had not just being a police chief, but being a Dallas police officer,” Garcia said. “I’m fortunate enough again that my last badge says Dallas Police. I’m proudest more of that than I am of the four stars.”
Garcia said he’s planning to spend more time with family, including a soon-to-be-born grandchild, after he leaves law enforcement.
“I’m going to be a grandfather – very excited about that,” he said Wednesday. “The way I lead, I don’t like to be away from this department and feel guilty about the fact that I’m not there.”
Garcia became choked up when he recalled Johnson’s statements before he took the job that he wanted a “chief who took it personally.”
“I promise you, I took it personally, and these men and women continue to take it personally,” he said.
Each city council member was given time to say their goodbyes to Garcia.
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. As part of that deal, as of September, with the retention bonuses included, Garcia would have been making a salary of about $326,440.40, a little more than $1,000 less than his $327,600 annual salary with Austin.
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.
“To be able to have led two of the nation’s top...police departments is truly a dream come true,” he said Wednesday.
According to Igo’s offer letter, his interim base salary is $265,000, according to his offer letter.
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.