Dallas police chief hired as city of Austin assistant city manager

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The city of Austin has hired Dallas Police Department police chief Eddie Garcia as an assistant city manager overseeing public safety, according to an internal memo sent to the mayor and council members that KXAN obtained.

"I am excited to welcome Mr. Garcia as our new Assistant City Manager over public safety," said Austin city manager T.C. Broadnax in a statement. "His extensive experience and deep commitment to the communities he serves makes him the ideal leader to join my executive team. I am confident that under his leadership, our public safety efforts will continue to thrive and evolve to meet the needs of our growing city."

Broadnax also came from the city of Dallas, where he previously served as city manager.

The position Garcia will fill was previously held by Bruce Mills, who retired last month. Mills was an Austin Police Department assistant chief before that.

Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson and Interim Dallas city manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert also released a joint statement that said in-part:

"We are immensely grateful to Chief Garcia for his dedicated service and unwavering commitment to the safety of our residents. While we are sorry to see him go, we also know that big city police chiefs never stick around forever. We are fortunate to have had a capable, committed, experienced, and innovative police chief these last three and a half years. We wish him the best of luck on his next journey."