The top priorities for the five candidates vying to become the next Dallas police chief are recruiting and retention, day-to-day department operations and community engagement. The candidates made their case to Dallas residents during a Tuesday evening meet and greet.
The candidates are Carrollton Police Chief Roberto Arredondo, Jr., Brian Boetig, a retired FBI assistant director, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA鈥檚 Houston Field Division Daniel C. Comeaux, current Interim Dallas Police Chief Michael Igo and Dallas Police Assistant Chief Catrina M. Shead.
The position has been without a permanent candidate since last year when former Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia announced his resignation 鈥� and his plans to head to Austin to become an assistant city manager.
Whoever is selected for the role will have to contend with controversial policies effecting public safety staffing, public outcry over where taxpayer dollars should be spent 鈥� and a city council fractured over what supporting police means.
Roberto Arredondo Jr.
Arredondo, a U.S. Army veteran, is the current Carrollton Police Chief and has been in law enforcement for 27 years. The bulk of that time was served with the Dallas Police Department, according to his biography.
In 2020 he became the Chief of Police in Victoria, Texas and in 2023 left to become Carrollton鈥檚 police chief.
A Dallas housing advocate asked Arredondo how he would tackle the city's homelessness problem. The issue has been the forefront of resident 鈥� and housing advocates 鈥� priorities.
"We're in a pretty tough situation," Arredondo said. "What we need is legislative help, and we don't need unfunded mandates."
Arredondo said the city needs money for the various communities across Dallas. When pressed on what the funds would be used for, he said "for anything for the disenfranchised."
"Unfortunately, it's difficult here," Arredondo told the advocate. "We have to figure out what those resources are in the city...however I can't sit here and tell you I have the correct answer because if I did I'd probably be on the cover of Forbes magazine."
Brian Boetig
Boetig has 35 years in national security, public safety and consulting under his belt, according to his biography. That includes 24 years with the FBI where he served in roles including assistant director, special agent in charge and 鈥淟egal Attache in the UK, Ireland, and Canada.鈥�
He was a first responder to the September 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and went on to be the FBI鈥檚 senior liaison to the CIA.
Boetig told 四虎影院 his first day on the job would start with community engagement to set the tone.
"My tone is always about virtuous leadership," Boetig said. "I am incessantly focused on core values."
When it comes to dealing with a city council with divided interests when it comes to public safety, Boetig 鈥� who first met the council yesterday 鈥� said he believes he has the skills to navigate politics inside City Hall.
"They were wonderful and outstanding people," Boetig said. "I don't know about any of the politics or fractures within the city council at this point."
Boetig said he believes he has the diplomacy to "pull anybody together."
"So if there are issues maybe I'll be the glue that fixes it," Boetig said.
Daniel C. Comeaux
Comeaux is currently serving as Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the DEA鈥檚 Houston Field Division. He oversees 鈥�12 offices across Texas, including 645 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border."
He started his career with the Houston Police Department in the early-1990s and transition to the DEA, carrying out major operations in Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Comeaux wrote in his bio that his vision for DPD 鈥渋ncludes enhancing recruitment, implementing innovative crime-fighting tactics, and strengthening public trust.鈥�
"[My] first day I'm going to come in and get to know the staff...and really just listen," Comeaux told 四虎影院 on Tuesday.
When asked by local reporters about how Comeaux would approach dealing with a controversial police hiring mandate passed last year, he said the city needed to think outside the box.
"Clearly you're not going to hire 900 on officers doing what [the city has] been doing," Comeaux said. "There's a plan that I want to come up with where I want to look at looking at hiring some contract officers."
Comeaux said those could be retired officers with "some gas left in their tanks" to supplement the police department.
Michael T. Igo
Igo was appointed to interim police chief in October 2024 and has tried to navigate the aftermath a slate of controversial city charter amendments has caused after being passed by Dallas voters last year. And whoever ultimately ends up in the position will have to do the same.
One of those policies requires the city to maintain a police staffing level of 4,000 officers. The city could need to hire hundreds more officers to comply with the mandate.
And Dallas HERO, the group who pushed the amendments, has already put city leaders on notice. Now, Dallas has 60 days to comply with the charter or risk litigation.
Igo told Dallas elected officials earlier this year that hiring more than 300 police officers could hurt current patrol operations 鈥� and cause funding issues. After hours of debate, the city council voted to side with Igo and other DPD officials and set a hiring goal of 300.
Although it agrees that public safety is a top priority for Dallas residents, the council is fractured over its definition of police support.
Some members fall on the more progressive side of the debate and say the way to curb violent crime isn't by adding more officers 鈥� but by addressing the root causes of crime.
But others say more eyes on the streets will mean a decrease in crime. The city has enjoyed a three-year violent crime reduction 鈥� and residents are still calling for a ramp up in police hiring.
"My goal is to increase staffing [in] the department," Igo told 四虎影院 on Tuesday evening. "I've had conversations with executives...from Dallas HERO and I told them that's what I want to do, but I want to do it in a structured way."
In his biography, Igo says his priorities for DPD are 鈥渆nhancing public safety, supporting officer well- being, strengthening community relations, engaging youth, and improving officer recruitment efforts.鈥�
Catrina M. Shead
Shead has been with the Dallas Police Department for 30 years and currently oversees multiple divisions including the Tactical & Operations Bureau, overseeing SWAT, Gangs, Narcotics, and Drone Operations, according to her biography.
Shead is also the only woman candidate being considered to lead the department as well. When asked by one resident on Tuesday evening how she would rebuild trust between younger Dallas residents and the police force, this was Shead's response:
"That just really means that the don't know us, and that means we;'ve done a poor job engaging them and telling them who we are," Shead said. "I get the dynamic, you see a police officer in uniform, that's all you see 鈥� you don't know the person in the uniform."
She said residents need to know "the person in the uniform" in order to build trust across the city.
An expedited search
The national search process is being overseen by City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and has moved swiftly since being announced earlier this year 鈥� one of Tolbert鈥檚 stated priorities before taking the city manager role.
That鈥檚 in comparison to the search process 鈥� which stretched on for months 鈥� that put Tolbert in her current role. It was overseen by Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins.
That saga included dueling meetings, transparency concerns 鈥� and dozens of candidates being kept from city officials.
Tolbert was up against a handful of other finalists for the position but was widely viewed 鈥� for better or for worse 鈥� as the front runner. She鈥檇 been in and around Dallas City Hall and other North Texas government agencies for decades.
Its unclear which, if any, of the two current DPD executives has an advantage over the role.
But Igo has been front and center for months, answering the council鈥檚 questions over public safety 鈥� what is possibly the city鈥檚 most talked about issue.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter .
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