The Edinburg Police Department says it has a new police chief.
The city hired Jaime Ayala on Friday to take over operations.
Ayala is an assistant chief from the city of Arlington in northern Texas.
The city of Edinburg contracted with Strategic Government Resources to find its selection of a new chief.
Former Chief Cesar Torres was fired after a neutral arbiter ruled he discriminated against union-affiliated officers.
Ayala is one of three finalists for the position.
Former San Juan police Chief Juan Gonzalez and New York State Police Captain Michael Drake were the other two finalists.
The Monitor requested the applications and cover letter for the Edinburg police chief candidates.
The city of Edinburg instead of providing the requested information claims that it is the proprietary property of Strategic Government Resources and has requested an opinion from the Texas Attorney’s General’s Office.
However, citing the contract with Strategic Government Resources, the city of Edinburg claims the other applications are not subject to the Texas Public Information Act per its contract with Strategic Government Resources.
That contract cost nearly $25,000, according to a public information request.
The Monitor interviewed City Manager Ron Garza on Thursday and Garza said the next step is to interview the candidates. Yet on Friday night, with no public notice, the city announced Ayala was chosen as police chief.
The circumstances about Ayala’s choice aren’t immediately clear as Garza did not mention anything during the newspaper interview other than the next step for the city is to interview the candidates.
Garza did not indicate a candidate would be chosen less than 48 hours after that interview.
Ayala says in his resume that he has been in law enforcement for 32 years.
He has been an interim chief in Arlington since 2020, according to his resume. Before that his resume says he was an assistant chief for six years, between 2014 and 2020.
Ayala says he is an innovative leader with progressive policing experience focused on improving the quality of life and fostering sustainable relationships in neighborhoods.
“Proven in public speaking and developing partnerships throughout the community. Proficient in identifying and utilizing all available resources to address community issues with a collaborate multidisciplinary approach,” Ayala said in his resume, which The Monitor obtained through a public information act request.
