Acevedo: 'My heart's really here'

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Chief Art Acevedo announced Tuesday that he would stay in Austin and would not be named the Dallas police chief after withdrawing from consideration.

"The response of this community has been so loud and so clear and so overhwleming that - my heart's really here," Acevedo said. "I think there's still work to be done."

He told reporters that he was "70 to 80 percent" decided that he wouldn't leave Austin, and then that changed to "85 to 90 percent" in recent days after conversations with colleagues, supporters and the media.

He said he called Dallas City Manager Margaret Suhm on Tuesday afternoon and withdrew his name from consideration.

Suhm is expected to name the Dallas police chief at a Wednesday briefing of Dallas City Council.

Several sources connected to the Dallas Police Department said Tuesday that First Assistant Dallas Police Chief David Brown will be the new Dallas chief, but officials in the Dallas City Manager’s office would not confirm those reports.

Brown said he has not been notified of any decision.

When Suhm visited Austin a few weeks ago, Acevedo said he would stay in Austin if he failed to be picked as Dallas police chief.

At the time, 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.

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.