A boricua is the new chief of police in Dallas, Texas

Washington dc – Eddie Garcia, born in Puerto Rico, has been appointed chief of police in Dallas, Texas, days after resigning from the same position in San Jose, California.

Garcia retired from the St. Joseph Police, where he worked for nearly 29 years, on Dec. 12, to accept the position in Dallas. He was chief of police in that city of St. Joseph, the tenth largest in the United States, for four years

He will be the first Latin police chief in Dallas, which with a population of 1.3 million is the ninth most populous city in the United States.

“We have to celebrate the fact that Garcia will be the first Hispanic to be a police chief. It’s truly a historic moment in Dallas.” indicated the mayor of the city, Eric Johnson.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Garcia, who is bilingual, was born in Puerto Rico. His family moved to California when he was five years old.

Michael Mata, of the Dallas Police Association, told CBS local channel that it is important that Garcia has experience in city police matters with a demographic and population profile similar to that of Dallas.

Garcia, who described himself as a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys football team, was selected out of six other candidates for Dallas police headquarters.

The new Dallas police chief will begin his duties on February 3.