‘Ready to get to work’: Dallas Police Chief Eddie García on the job even before Day 1

The seamster at the Dallas Police Department ran into a slight issue as he prepared a special uniform order for the new chief.

The quartermaster’s unit, which customizes uniforms for the 3,100 sworn officers in the department, was out of the newest patches with golden hash marks, which go on an officer’s left sleeve and represent years of service.

The gold thread wasn’t as bright in the old patches. The difference, while unnoticeable to the untrained eye, was a detail the seamster wanted to get right. A tailor rushed to find a new patch, but Chief Eddie García insisted that wasn’t necessary.

“Five yellow French fries are five yellow French fries,” García said Monday, smiling as he joked about the emblem.

About a half-hour later, they finalized the new police chief’s attire: Each golden bar represents five years as a police officer. Next year, the 29-year veteran will earn his sixth.

On Wednesday, García, who retired in December as police chief in San Jose, Calif., will be the first out-of-state leader in recent history to start on Day 1 in his Dallas police uniform.

To the surprise of the rank and file, García kept his word and earned his right to be in uniform after he passed his Texas Commission on Law Enforcement certification exam last week. The commission would have granted him a year to work as a civilian chief.

García tried on the blazer of his dress uniform, which is often worn to formal events. The tailor took it in a little more after the final fitting. Normally, García would wear his new attire to be sworn in, but a city spokeswoman says no ceremony is planned.

And it is as García wanted. He said he is “ready to get to work” — no need for much pomp and circumstance.

When he saw officers from the police academy at the quartermaster unit, he introduced himself. They chatted briefly.

“See you guys,” he said. “Be safe.”

The new chief doesn’t officially start his job until Wednesday, and yet he’s been working since he was hired in December.

He sent a video to the rank and file officers. He introduced himself virtually to his entire command staff. He sat in a panel with community leaders about race and policing, promising accountability and transparency in cases of misconduct but also reminding them of the good policing that officers do every day.

García, a former homicide detective, stopped by to meet Dallas’ homicide unit last week. On Monday, he handled phone calls and text messages about the concerns with dangerous high-speed drivers who are wreaking havoc in Dallas intersections. He had lunch with a previous beloved Dallas police chief, David Kunkle. Next week, García will address the City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting.

When he walked into the quartermaster unit Monday, it was the last time he dressed as a civilian at headquarters, wearing a casual cotton blue long-sleeve shirt, pants and a pair of brown Converse.

The tailor packed his new Dallas police gear in a large bag: CHIEF GARCÍA, it said in Sharpie.

García picked it up and thanked the tailors. He got into his white SUV without a security detail, a privilege some police chiefs have used.

He plans to drive himself to headquarters on the first day.