Retiring Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia 1-on-1 interview

Dallas Police Department Chief Eddie Garcia sat down for a one-on-one with WFAA on September 24, 2024, to set the record straight after news surfaced confirming that he would be leaving Dallas for Austin.

Garcia said that he planned to announce his retirement first to his officers and the Department but the news leaked out of Dallas City Hall on Thursday before he had the chance.

”It was awful. It’s terrible. I mean Rebecca you know I mean my rank and file. They are the most important thing that I’ve done since I’ve been the police chief and for them to hear that way. Listen I’m not going to worry myself about who did it, where it came from. But what you have is I got robbed of being able to say goodbye to a 33-year career,” Garcia said.

Garcia says he is leaving at a time when he believes the department is in better shape than when he took over 3 and a half years ago. Violent crime is decreasing for the fourth year in a row, officer morale is up, and he says he built trust with the community.

”I mean there’s never a right time to go. But I also didn’t want to give the keys to a broken department to someone. So, when people say why is he leaving now, you know when things are going positive that’s the time to leave," Garcia said.

He says his decision came after much reflection and a desire to spend more time with his children and to have a life.

”Anyone who says that there’s any balance doesn’t really know the job because there is none and my kids are getting older. You know they’re young adults and hopefully starting their own family soon and I don’t want to waste a day," he said.

FULL STORY: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/loc...

00:00 - Introduction
00:43 - Why Garcia is retiring now
2:34 - The moment he realized he was going to retire
4:05 - Impact of city hall politics on retirement
7:33 - How Garcia feels about retirement leak
8:23 - Garcia on if he accomplished his goals
10:30 - Garcia and if he has regrets
11:54 - Who should be the next chief?
13:57 - Transitioning into new job in Austin
15:44 - Garcia on what he will miss about law enforcement
17:50 - How Garcia brought people together as police chief
21:02 - The demanding nature of being a police chief
22:27 - Will Garcia be coming back for Dallas Cowboys games?