Eddie Garcia has been introduced as the next police chief in Fort Worth. Garcia replaces Neil Noakes, who retired in May, and Robert Alldredge, who has been serving as interim chief.
"Your tireless efforts leave me with a department that is resilient, honorable and ready for the future," Garcia said Friday.
Garcia worked as Dallas Police Chief from 2022 through fall of 2024. He then left to become an assistant city manager overseeing public safety in Austin.
Garcia started as an officer in San Jose, California, spending 28 years there and ultimately becoming police chief before moving to Dallas.
"To the people of Fort Worth, hear me clearly: I will work tirelessly for you. Every resident of this city deserves to feel safe in their home, in their city and on their streets. You will be treated with dignity and respect by your police department. We will work to earn and maintain your trust every single day," Garcia said. "But let me also be clear: While we serve our community with compassion, the criminal element in Fort Worth should not mistake our kindness for weakness."
Garcia said he would use data-driven policing similar to what he used in Dallas to reduce crime.
"I think I'd be remiss not to bring the plan myself and criminologists put in Dallas here," he said in an interview KRLD. "Every city's different, but I've already made calls to get them ready to go. Dallas had four years of violent crime reduction under that plan. It's something that's been replicated in other cities, and we're going to take a hard look at that as well here."
Mayor Mattie Parker says public safety forms the "bedrock" of Fort Worth's success.
"It seems common sense, but across the country, maybe it's not," she says. "For cities that have been struggling, I think they've lost sight of what it means to support public safety both in investments in police officers and being pro-community. I wanted a chief who believed in that same adage. Chief Garcia does that with 30 years of experience in cities like Dallas and San Jose. Now an added bonus of experience on the management side on public safety for the City of Austin, he's going to bring all that bear here in the City of Fort Worth."
As Fort Worth has grown past one million people, Parker says Garcia's arrival can continue to build success in public safety.
"Our police department does a phenomenal job. That was a priority for Chief Noakes, and to continue that legacy and have a leader who also believes in that, Eddie will continue to do that in Fort Worth," she says.
Members of the Fort Worth Police Officers' Association say they are "thrilled" with Garcia's hire.
"We saw Eddie's performance with the Dallas Police Department and saw how he transformed that department. That's exactly what we want him to bring to Fort Worth," says President Lloyd Cook.
Cook says Garcia's experience in Austin would help him gain a "top-down" view of the police department, but Garcia may have missed "being a cop." Cook says Garcia has shown how he can use technology to make sure the department is working efficiently.
"The department evolves to address problems, to address citizens' concerns, but we're really optimistic about how he's going to lead the men and women of the department," Cook says.
Garcia himself says he also hopes to help people build a more positive view of police officers instead of only seeing them during times of crisis.
"We know there are areas of this city we're going to have to treat with police officers to take the criminal element out of those neighborhoods, so they're not preying on those communities," he says. "We can't do that just by itself. We also have to go in there when there's not a crisis, an arrest being made or a warrant being served. We have to be out in those neighborhoods, we have to team up with schools. We have to make sure those residents don't just see us in a moment of crisis."
Garcia will start the job in September.