Can Dallas stop Austin and Houston from hijacking its police chief?

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia is suddenly wanted in two other major cities across the state, and our City Hall was caught looking at him. Houston and Austin do not have a police chief; Houston resigned amid a rather alarming departmental scandal and Austin reportedly grew tired of the city not being able to agree to a contract with the police department and retired after 25 years.

Complicating matters is that TC Broadnax took the job as city manager in the state capital and, if you recall, Garcia told reporters that he would “run through a wall for that man » once his boss’s disorderly exit to Dallas became public. .

So it’s not much of a surprise that Interim City Manager Kim Tolbert sent a statement Wednesday evening to reporters. Its wording, however, deserves to raise an eyebrow. Without naming them, she told our neighbors to “turn around and go home.” (She also misspelled her name “Gracia” once. Maybe she just had gratitude in mind.)

So what’s going on here? The crux of the problem, like Dallas Morning News reported this morning is that the Dallas city charter prevents the city council from signing a contract with the police chief. He is an at-will employee, meaning the city manager can part ways with him at any time, just as he can part ways with the city. I called sources close to City Hall this morning and tried to get a sense of what’s going on behind the scenes. Here’s what I can tell you, although I promised not to name names so people can speak freely.

New city managers often want to have their own offices. The top of the org chart disappeared in 2017 when Broadnax came on board, either by his hand or by employees who took the hint. Already, as my colleague Bethany Erickson reported yesterday, Tolbert has reconfigured the city’s reporting structure, made some promotions and filled some positions — and she’s only doing this work in an interim capacity. Two of Broadnax’s top deputies appear ready to leave for city manager assignments in DeSoto and Topeka, Kansas. Tolbert should expect another exodus, which means she’ll have more recruiting to do. On top of all that, it would be a headache to find a new police chief, and probably a migraine to find someone who has the respect and support that Garcia enjoys both among the rank and file and among his bosses .

Garcia has not commented. But several City Hall sources say the chief began wanting additional contractual protection two years ago, when Mayor Eric Johnson and a few of his colleagues tried unsuccessfully to fire Broadnax. Clearly, Garcia seems to enjoy his job and the city he is responsible for policing. But he also said he felt like he lost his favorite coach when Broadnax resigned.

Houston has a strong mayoral system, meaning Mayor John Whitmire will make the next hire with City Council approval. Broadnax is the man to watch in Austin, which shares a council-manager system of government with Dallas that will require the city manager to get approval from his council. It’s hard to imagine either agency rejecting Garcia, who has successfully reduced violent crime here.

Fortunately, the Dallas City Council is currently reviewing its charter. Months of discussion during the review process never included an amendment allowing the council to sign a contract with a police chief. Former Dallas City Council member Adam McGough told the rest of the council there was a mechanism by which they could do this, but he didn’t elaborate and didn’t return my calls telephone calls. He was also on the charter review committee and did not suggest any changes related to a police chief’s contract.

The City Council has until May 17 to submit the final charter amendments for discussion, so perhaps this sets the stage for such an agreement. (Voters will have to approve any changes in November.) Until then, apparently, our best public response is for the city manager to send out statements not unlike the Cavaliers owner’s infamous Comic Sans screed, Dan Gilbert, after the departure of LeBron James for the Heat.