DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF) – Newly hired Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia is officially on duty.
Chief Garcia began his first day on the job Wednesday with a simple Tweet reading, “let’s roll.”
Not just day one process, but everyday process…… we all gotta have a system! Rise and Grind @DallasPD !!!! Let’s roll! pic.twitter.com/uKwIwEEKtH
— Eddie Garcia (@DPDChiefGarcia) February 3, 2021
Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata said that Chief Garcia plans to ride out on patrol and work side by side with the rank and file, which he believes has already boosted morale.
“It shows that he’s willing to do the same job that he’s asking us to do,” said Mata. “And that’s been a huge, huge problem that we’ve had in the past.
Chief Garcia comes to Dallas from San Jose, California where he served as Chief of Police. He’s the first Latino Police Chief in the history of the Dallas Police Department.
“The largest minority, majority, whichever way you want to look at it, is the Latino, Hispanic culture,” Mata said when referring to the City of Dallas. “So we haven’t had that individual who can go into the communities, speak that language, and understand where they’re going from. We’re getting that with Chief Garcia.”
Chief Garcia was recently certified as a Texas Peace Officer, allowing him to start the job in uniform. Previous Chiefs in Dallas have waited until after they began their job to take that step.
Welcome @DPDChiefGarcia to the Dallas Police Department. We are excited and looking forward to this new chapter in our organization. pic.twitter.com/YMVDLEjbU7
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) February 3, 2021
Listen to Clayton Neville’s story below:
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