García, who is currently an assistant city manager in Austin, led the Dallas police department for about 3½ years.
By Chase Rogers and Jamie Landers
Former Dallas police chief Eddie García speaks during the Fort Worth Police Chief Finalists Forum, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Fort Worth.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
Eddie García, the former Dallas police chief who departed for Austin last year despite efforts by city leaders to keep him, will be Fort Worth’s next police chief, officials announced Thursday.
The appointment comes less than a year after García became an assistant city manager in Austin, joining former Dallas city manager T.C. Broadnax, who had left earlier to take the top job at Austin City Hall.
García’s swift return to North Texas was driven by a realization during his time in Austin that he was “born to be a cop,” he explained during a finalist panel in Fort Worth earlier this month.
“At the end of the day, I’m a cop,” García said during the panel. “When I saw this opportunity come, it was a great opportunity for an amazing city that supports its police officers, but also holds their officers accountable as well.”
García led the Dallas police for about 3½ years. Before that, he spent about 30 years with the San Jose Police Department, rising through its ranks before leaving as its chief. His appointment in Dallas made him the city’s first Latino police chief.
In that time, he built a national profile as a law enforcement leader, gaining attention for a focus on data-driven policing, community engagement and efforts to rebuild trust between officers and the public.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
In April, Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert tapped Chief Daniel Comeaux, formerly the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Houston Field Division, to succeed García.
“It will be good to see [García] back in uniform again after trading it in for a business suit,” Tolbert said in a statement issued through a spokesperson. “I am confident the people of Fort Worth will benefit from his many years of law enforcement experience. I wish him the best.”
Tolbert had worked to retain García in Dallas after reports emerged that city officials in Houston and Austin, both then led by interim police chiefs, were courting him to head their police departments.
In a statement, Broadnax said it had been a privilege to work with García in Dallas and Austin and expressed confidence that Fort Worth would benefit from his leadership, adding, “As a leader, I always encourage my team to follow their passions and pursue professional opportunities that advance their career goals.”
García was chosen as chief from a pool of 50 other applicants, competing against two other finalists: interim Chief Robert Alldredge, who has served 26 years with the Fort Worth Police Department, and Vernon Hale, a former Dallas police deputy chief.
A fourth finalist, Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides of the Los Angeles Police Department, withdrew her application from consideration after receiving a promotion.
The Fort Worth chief position had been open since the former chief, Neil Noakes, retired in May after more than four years.
Noakes now works at the American Warrior Association, a faith-based nonprofit in Fort Worth that supports service members, veterans, first responders and their families.
Fort Worth City Manager Jesus “Jay” Chapa, who announced the hire in a news release, said that city leadership and García would not be available for interviews until a news conference scheduled for Friday morning.
By Chase Rogers
Chase Rogers is a public safety reporter covering the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire-Rescue. He grew up in Granbury and studied journalism at Texas State University. Before joining The News, he reported for the Austin American-Statesman and the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. He can be reached at 361-239-6527 and on Signal at crogers.95.
Jamie Landers is a breaking news reporter at The Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix, where she studied journalism and political science. Jamie previously reported for The Arizona Republic and Arizona PBS.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
