New Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux. Courtesy of a City of Dallas press release.
Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert selected Daniel Comeaux as Dallas Police Department’s new police chief.
Comeaux has spent 33 years working in law enforcement and currently is the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Houston Field Division, according to a City of Dallas press release. He oversees 12 offices in Texas, including Houston, San Antonio and Austin, and his jurisdiction includes almost 16 million residents who live in 114 counties across 118,000 square miles, some of which are at the United States-Mexico border. Comeaux has focused on intelligence-driven crime reduction, operational efficiency, interagency collaboration and officer development.
“Special Agent in Charge Comeaux has consistently demonstrated a proven track record of successfully addressing complex crime challenges across large scale, diverse populations and geographic areas – that span internationally,” Tolbert said in the press release. “The City of Dallas continues to achieve crime reduction year after year. I am confident with SAC Comeaux at the helm, we will continue to be one of the safest large cities in the country, while building trust, and bolstering our recruitment and retention efforts. I want to thank Interim Chief Michael T. Igo for his longstanding service to the Dallas Police Department, and his willingness to lead during this time of transition.”
Comeaux’s hiring is effective April 23.
A nationwide search for the new police chief ensued after former Chief Eddie Garcia left the position and went to Austin last fall. A list of five finalists was narrowed down from 25 candidates, according to a City of Dallas press release. Besides Comeaux, the finalists included Igo and DPD Assistant Chief Catrina M. Shead as well as the Carrollton Police Department chief and a retired FBI assistant director.
Comeaux, who hails from New Orleans, started his career with the Houston Police Department in the early 1990s, and he specialized in community policing, narcotics enforcement and high-risk investigations. By 1997, he joined the DEA and led major operations targeting violent crime and drug trafficking in Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles. He has been able to achieve significant crime reduction, including a 40% decrease in overdose deaths in Laredo, Texas, according to the press release.
