Acevedo pledges "no more job searches"

Austin - Chief Art Acevedo told the media on Friday afternoon that he would stay in Austin if he failed to be picked as Dallas police chief.

Yesterday, Acevedo pulled out of the list of finalists for police chief in Pasadena, California. Today, with Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm visiting Austin, Acevedo pledged to stay put for at least another six years if he's not named chief in Dallas.

Acevedo said his family had been touched by the support of the community and city leaders, but especially his rank-and-file officers. Acevedo said he would be 46 in July, and if he failed to get the Dallas job, he would stay in Austin for at least another six years "unless I get run out."

"I realized that if I don't go to Dallas, I'm not going to put the city through this again, at least not for a while," Acevedo said.

During his tenure in Austin, Acevedo upgraded training, established a leadership academy, emphasized fitness and character on the force, and reached out to the minority community, which has been angry at the Austin Police Department overa number of alleged instances of the use of excessive force.

Acevedo said he had pursued the Dallas job because he had grown up in one of the most diverse places in the world -- California -- and the diversity of Dallas presented him with a similar set of challenges.

"I think I have the skills set to navigate a community as diverse as Dallas and to handle union issues," Acevedo said. 

Suhm made brief remarks to the media, refusing to show her hand. Dallas has six finalists -- three internal and three external -- and Suhm has plans to visit Louisvile and San Jose next week. She hopes to name the new chief by the end of April. Suhm says she came to Austin because, "I wanted to talk with the community and the people he works with. Thats the point of these visits."

Nelson Linder, president of Austiin's NAACP, says, "He's done fantastic. He's a great communicator, made himself very accessible, which was very necessary. Given the challenges back in 2007, he's passed most of them with flying colors."

Acevedo has said job security is one reason he's looking at other opportunities. The city of Austin offered him a $12,000 raise to stay here, but has not offered a severance package that might address those security concerns.